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 and singing the hymn 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.

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 works towards a world without slavery.

Visiting Choirs

When the Abbey Choirs are on holiday, the Abbey welcomes visiting choirs, upholding the Abbey's pattern of choral services. This is an important aspect of worship at Westminster Abbey, and choirs are received both at the invitation of the Minor Canons and Music Departments and via online applications. More information and details on how to apply can be found here. Today, the Abbey is pleased to welcome the Choir of Ardingly College to sing Evensong.

Order of Service

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: Humphrey Clucas (b 1941)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 97

The Lord is King, the earth may be glad thereof : yea, the multitude of the isles may be glad thereof.
Clouds and darkness are round about him : righteousness and judgement are the habitation of his seat.
There shall go a fire before him : and burn up his enemies on every side.
His lightnings gave shine unto the world : the earth saw it, and was afraid.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord : at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens have declared his righteousness : and all the people have seen his glory.
Confounded be all they that worship carved images, and that delight in vain gods : worship him, all ye gods.
Sion heard of it, and rejoiced : and the daughters of Judah were glad, because of thy judgements, O Lord.
For thou, Lord, art higher than all that are in the earth : thou art exalted far above all gods.
O ye that love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing which is evil : the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints; he shall deliver them from the hand of the ungodly.
There is sprung up a light for the righteous : and joyful gladness for such as are true-hearted.
Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous : and give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness.

All stand

Chant: Thomas Sanders Dupuis (1733–96)

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 49: 1–13

Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, 'You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'
But I said, 'I have laboured in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.'

And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
he says,
'It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'

Thus says the Lord,
   the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
   the slave of rulers,
'Kings shall see and stand up,
   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.'

Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favour I have answered you,
   on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
   as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
   to apportion the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, 'Come out',
   to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'
They shall feed along the ways,
   on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
   neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
   and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
   and my highways shall be raised up.
Lo, these shall come from far away,
   and lo, these from the north and from the west,
   and these from the land of Syene.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
   break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
   and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in D minor, Thomas Attwood Walmisley (1814–56)

All sit for the second Lesson, John 4: 7–26

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink'. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?' (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink", you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?' Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.'

Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come back.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, "I have no husband"; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!' The woman said to him, 'Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.' Jesus said to her, 'I am he, the one who is speaking to you.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in D minor, Thomas Attwood Walmisley

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 God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the gentiles; mercifully grant, that we, which know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; 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: Humphrey Clucas

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

A babe is born all of a may,
To bring salvation unto us.
To him we sing both night and day.
Veni creator Spiritus.
Come, creator Spirit.

At Bethlehem, that blessed place,
The child of bliss now born he was;
And him to serve God give us grace,
O lux beata Trinitas.
O blessed light of the Trinity.

There came three kings out of the east,
To worship the King that is so free,
With gold and myrrh and frankincense,
A solis ortus cardine.
From the rising of the sun.

The angels came down with one cry,
A fair song that night sung they
In worship of that child:
Gloria tibi Domine.
Glory to you, Lord.

A babe is born all of a may,
To bring salvation unto us.
To him we sing both night and day.
Veni creator Spiritus,
O lux beata Trinitas,
A solis ortus cardine,
Gloria tibi Domine.
   Noël!

Words: anonymous, 15th century
Music: William Mathias (1934–92)

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 to sing the Hymn

From the eastern mountains
   pressing on they come,
wise men in their wisdom,
   to his humble home;
stirred by deep devotion,
   hasting from afar,
ever journeying onward,
   guided by a star.

There their Lord and Saviour
   as an infant lay,
wondrous light that led them
   onward on their way,
ever now to lighten
   nations from afar,
as they journey homeward
   by that guiding star.

Thou who in a manger
   once hast lowly lain,
who dost now in glory
   o'er all kingdoms reign,
gather in the peoples,
   who in lands afar
ne'er have seen the brightness
   of thy guiding star.

Gather in the outcasts,
   all who've gone astray,
throw thy radiance o'er them,
   guide them on their way;
those who never knew thee,
   those who've wandered far,
guide them by the brightness
   of thy guiding star

Onward through the darkness
   of the lonely night,
shining still before them
   with thy kindly light,
guide them, Jew and gentile,
  homeward from afar,
young and old together,
  by thy guiding star

Until every nation,
   whether bond or free,
'neath thy star-lit banner,
   Jesu, follows thee,
o'er the distant mountains
   to that heavenly home
where nor sin nor sorrow
   evermore shall come.

Words: Godfrey Thring (1823–1903)
Tune: 'Evelyns' 338 NEH, William Henry Monk (1823–89)

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

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

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Hymn covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. 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.