Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At choral Evensong most of the service is sung by the choir on our behalf. We participate through our presence and our listening, that the words and the music might become a prayer within us and lift us to contemplate God's beauty and glory.

The service always includes one or more psalms. These ancient prayers, taken from the Old Testament, reflect the full range of human emotions and experiences; from the depths of anger, resentment, and abandonment to the heights of ecstatic joy and praise. They were used by Jesus, and have always been at the heart of the Church's daily prayer.

The canticles Magnificat (Luke 1: 46–55) and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2: 29–32) reflect two responses to the Incarnation (God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ). Both speak of the fulfilment of God's promises, not just to 'Abraham and his seed', but also 'to be a light to lighten the Gentiles' (all nations). With their themes of fulfilment and completion, these texts have been given central place for many centuries in the Church's prayers for the evening and at the end of the day.

Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

The service is sung by the St Margaret's Choristers and Consort.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Unseen and the work of the Abbey. Unseen provides safehouses and support in the community for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. Unseen also runs the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline.

This service will be live-streamed.

Order of Service

The choir sings the Introit

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Amen.

Wherever charity and love are to be found, God is there. The love of Christ has brought us together as one. Let us rejoice and be glad in him. Let us fear and love the living God; and let us love one another with sincerity in our heart. Amen.

Words: attributed to Paulinus II of Aquileia (c 726–c 804) (antiphon at the foot-washing, Maundy Thursday)
Music: from 'Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens' Op 10, Maurice Duruflé (1902–86)

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

All remain standing as the officiant introduces the Confession

Beloved, we are come together in the presence of Almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and show forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all people such things as their well-being doth require. Wherefore let us sit or kneel and keep silence, and remember God's presence with us now.

All kneel or sit to say together

O God, our Father,
we have sinned against thee
in thought, word, and deed;
we have not loved thee with all our heart;
we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.
Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee;
cleanse us from our sins;
and help us to overcome our faults;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: William Smith (1603–45)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 26

Be thou my Judge, O Lord, for I have walked innocently : my trust hath been also in the Lord, therefore shall I not fall.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me : try out my reins and my heart.
For thy loving-kindness is ever before mine eyes : and I will walk in thy truth.
I have not dwelt with vain persons : neither will I have fellowship with the deceitful.
I have hated the congregation of the wicked : and will not sit among the ungodly.
I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord : and so will I go to thine altar;
that I may shew the voice of thanksgiving : and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house : and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
O shut not up my soul with the sinners : nor my life with the blood-thirsty;
in whose hands is wickedness : and their right hand is full of gifts.
But as for me, I will walk innocently : O deliver me, and be merciful unto me.
My foot standeth right : I will praise the Lord in the congregations.

All stand

Chant: Joseph Barnby (1838–96)

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 5: 8–24

Ah, you who join house to house,
   who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
   and you are left to live alone
   in the midst of the land!
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
   large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
   and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.

Ah, you who rise early in the morning
   in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
   to be inflamed by wine,
whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
   tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
   or see the work of his hands!
Therefore my people go into exile without knowledge;
their nobles are dying of hunger,
   and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
   and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down,
   her throng and all who exult in her.
People are bowed down, everyone is brought low,
   and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
But the Lord of hosts is exalted by justice,
   and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.
Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture,
   fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins.

Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,
   who drag sin along as with cart-ropes,
who say, 'Let him make haste,
   let him speed his work
   that we may see it;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfilment,
   that we may know it!'
Ah, you who call evil good
   and good evil,
who put darkness for light
   and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
   and sweet for bitter!
Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,
   and shrewd in your own sight!
Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine
   and valiant at mixing drink,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
   and deprive the innocent of their rights!

Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
   and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will become rotten,
   and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of hosts,
   and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in D, Herbert Brewer (1865–1928)

All sit for the second Lesson, James 1: 17–25

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in D, Herbert Brewer

All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may by thy mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both, our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that, by thee, we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Music: William Smith

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Leaf from leaf Christ knows;
Himself the Lily and the Rose:

Sheep from sheep Christ tells;
Himself the Shepherd, no one else:

Star and star he names,
Himself outblazing all their flames:

Dove by dove, he calls
To set each on the golden walls:

Drop by drop, he counts
The flood of ocean as it mounts:

Grain by grain, his hand
Numbers the innumerable sand.

Lord, I lift to thee
In peace what is and what shall be:

Lord, in peace I trust
To thee all spirits and all dust.

Words: Christina Rossetti (1830–94)
Music: Judith Weir (b 1954)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the Members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All say

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.

All stand as the choir and clergy depart

Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary

Choristerships at Westminster Abbey

St Margaret's Choristers

If you have a daughter aged 10 or 11 who would like to sing with the St Margaret's Choristers, please contact Mr Greg Morris, Director of Music, St Margaret's Church, [email protected]. Find out more about Music at St Margaret's Church.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey

If you have a son who enjoys singing, you can find out more information about our world-renowned Abbey Choir and its unique Choir School. Alternatively, please contact Dr Emma Margrett, Headteacher, Westminster Abbey Choir School, and Mr Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, by emailing [email protected].

If you attend worship at the Abbey regularly, you may like to add this page to your home screen for easy access to our orders of service.

Common Worship (Church House Publishing, 2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council. Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version.