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.

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 Westminster School who are singing this evening's service.

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: Bernard Rose (1916–96)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 45

My heart is inditing of a good matter : I speak of the things which I have made unto the King.
My tongue is the pen : of a ready writer.
Thou art fairer than the children of men : full of grace are thy lips, because God hath blessed thee for ever.
Gird thee with thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty : according to thy worship and renown.
Good luck have thou with thine honour : ride on, because of the word of truth, of meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thy arrows are very sharp, and the people shall be subdued unto thee : even in the midst among the King's enemies.
Thy seat, O God, endureth for ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity : wherefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia : out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women : upon thy right hand did stand the queen in a vesture of gold, wrought about with divers colours.
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear : forget also thine own people, and thy father's house.
So shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty : for he is thy Lord God, and worship thou him.
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift : like as the rich also among the people shall make their supplication before thee.
The King's daughter is all glorious within : her clothing is of wrought gold.
She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work : the virgins that be her fellows shall bear her company, and shall be brought unto thee.
With joy and gladness shall they be brought : and shall enter into the King's palace.
Instead of thy fathers thou shalt have children : whom thou mayest make princes in all lands.
I will remember thy name from one generation to another : therefore shall the people give thanks unto thee, world without end.

All stand

Chant: Gerald Knight (1908–79)

All sit for the first Lesson, Ezekiel 1: 4–14

As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved. As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. In the middle of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire. The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in B minor, T Tertius Noble (1867–1953)

All sit for the second Lesson, 2 Timothy 4: 1–11

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in B minor, T Tertius Noble

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.

Music: Bernard Rose

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

O almighty God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy evangelist Saint Mark; give us grace, that, being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy gospel; 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: Bernard Rose

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
   give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name;
   worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters,
   the God of glory thundereth.
It is the Lord that ruleth the sea;
   the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars;
   yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Yea, the voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire;
yea, the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness,

   and strippeth the forests bare;
   in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

Worship the Lord, in the beauty of holiness.

The Lord sitteth above the water flood
   and the Lord remaineth a King for ever.
The Lord shall give strength unto his people;
   the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Words: Psalms 29: 1–5, 7–8a, 9b–end; 96: 9a
Music: Edward Elgar (1857–1934)

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

O gladsome light, O grace
of God the Father's face,
   th'eternal splendour wearing;
celestial, holy, blest,
our Saviour Jesus Christ,
   joyful in thine appearing.

Now, ere day fadeth quite,
we see the evening light,
   our wonted hymn outpouring;
Father of might unknown,
thee, his incarnate Son,
   and Holy Spirit adoring.

To thee of right belongs
all praise of holy songs,
   O Son of God, Lifegiver;
thee, therefore, O Most High,
the world doth glorify,
   and shall exalt for ever.

Words: in 'Apostolic Constitutions' c 3rd or 4th century, translated by Robert Bridges (1844–1930)
Tune: 'Nunc dimittis' 247 NEH, Louis Bourgeois (c 1510–60) in the 'Genevan Psalter' 1549

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

Music after the service

Toccata (from Symphonie V in F Op 42 no 1), Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)

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.