All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (May 22, 2022)
One or more candles may be lit.
God is love. Since God loves us, we should love one another.
EVENING HYMN
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
Oooh gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Oooh gracious Light,
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We praise and thank you, O God our Father,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him you have enlightened us
by revealing the light that never fades,
for dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
What was promised is fulfilled:
we have been joined to God,
through renewed life in the Spirit of the risen Lord.
Glory and praise to you, our Father,
through Jesus your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit,
in the kingdom of light eternal,
for ever and ever. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell's "Love Goes On."
EVENING HYMN
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
Oooh gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Oooh gracious Light,
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
Oooh gracious Light,
O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light,
Oooh gracious Light.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We praise and thank you, O God our Father,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him you have enlightened us
by revealing the light that never fades,
for dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
What was promised is fulfilled:
we have been joined to God,
through renewed life in the Spirit of the risen Lord.
Glory and praise to you, our Father,
through Jesus your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit,
in the kingdom of light eternal,
for ever and ever. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell's "Love Goes On."
Love is patient, love is kind,
never ending, never ending;
slow to anger, rich in mercy,
love goes on beyond all time.
Love is faithful, love is true,
ever joyful and forgiving;
love endures when life is over,
love is old and love is new.
Love alone has shaped our soul,
and our hearts are always restless
until love becomes our purpose,
new creation to unfold.
Love our journey, love our goal.
Though our faith may move mountains,
love alone can heal the broken;
only love will make us whole.
Love, our Savior’s one command:
“Love the way
that I have loved you,”
with a towel and a basin,
washing feet with servant hands.
There are three gifts that remain
when all other things have perished.
Only faith, hope, love enduring,
and the greatest gift is love.
SCRIPTURE
John 14:23-29 Love Expressed in Obedience
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them. Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am still with you. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.
“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father; for he is greater than I. I have told you this now before it all happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
Have you ever met or known someone who told you that they loved you, but their actions did not match their words? They spent little time with you. You saw them all of the time with other people. They were slow to return your phone calls or to respond to your texts if they returned your phone calls or responded to your texts at all. They never remembered the special occasions such as your birthday. They didn’t even send you a birthday card or wish you happy birthday on Facebook. They were never around when you needed a shoulder to cry on or a word of encouragement. When you need a helping hand, they had something pressing that they had to do. They would be knocking at your door early in the morning or late at night when they need something from you.
In today’s reading—John 14: 23-29—Jesus points to the attention of his disciples that those who genuinely love him match their words with their actions. They do what he taught. Jesus further points to their attention that his teaching is not his own. It comes from the Father who sent him. It is God’s teaching.
Jesus taught his disciples to love God and to love others, describing as the essence of true religion the commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
He further taught his disciples to love their enemies and to do good to them; to be merciful as God is merciful; to treat others as they would wish themselves to be treated by others; to forgive the mistakes and faults of others and not to hold anything against them; not to be harsh in their judgment of others but to form their opinion of them, using the same measure as they would wish to be applied to themselves; to seek to be reconciled to those from whom they had become estranged; and to be compassionate, generous, and kind in their dealings with others.
Jesus also taught his disciples to believe in him, to trust the goodness of God, and to persevere in prayer; and to live godly lives, obeying and respecting God.
For those who wish to learn more about what Jesus taught and exemplified, I recommend that they read the four Gospels. I also recommend that they reflect upon each passage, jot down their thoughts in a notebook, and pray about what they have read. Ask the Holy Spirit to shed more light on a passage for them.
When we become a believer, we begin a lifetime of discipleship. We believe in Jesus’ teaching, and we endeavor to live according to what he taught. Having been put right with God by grace through faith in Jesus, we look to Jesus as our teacher and exemplar for guidance and direction on how to live in a manner that is pleasing to God.
This is an undertaking that is best pursued in the company of others who are also believers. We not only can offer each other encouragement and support but also hold each other accountable.
When John Wesley organized the early Methodists into classes and bands, he recognized the importance of mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability to the spiritual growth of followers of Jesus. In these small groups the early Methodists were able to “watch over one another in love” and to grow in Christian maturity and love of God. To Wesley’s organization of the early Methodists into classes and bands is attributed the success of the movement.
Sunday school classes and John Wesley’s classes are not the same thing. They serve entirely different purposes. The Sunday school originated as a scheme to give a basic and religious education to poor children who worked in the factories of England in the eighteenth century and whose only day off was Sunday. It would evolve into what we find in churches today.
At one point in its evolution, Sunday school included singing and prayers as well as religious instruction and Bible lessons, and attendance at a church’s Sunday school often rivaled or exceeded attendance at its church services. Some people would attend only a church’s Sunday school while others attended its church services. They did not attend both. In many instances the Sunday school operated independently of the church.
In the literature of the time the competition between a Sunday school and church services was a major cause for concern since the proper role of a Sunday school is ancillary to that of the church service. The teaching ministry of the Sunday school teacher is supposed to augment the teaching ministry of the pastor and not replace it. A Sunday school teacher might teach doctrines or interpret Scripture contrary to what the official positions of the church and the denomination with which the church was affiliated. In some instances, the rivalry between Sunday school and church caused church splits.
The purpose of John Wesley’s classes, however, was to foster the spiritual growth of the individual believer through mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability. The members of a class met weekly and shared with each other their progress in living the Christian faith and life according to Jesus’ teaching and example and in making use of the means of grace through which God enables the believer grow in Christian maturity, in maturity of character and love of God. They also shared with each other the obstacles and temptations which they faced and prayed for each other. The weekly class meeting helped its members to grow in faith, love, and obedience. As the class members matured as disciples, their love of Jesus and of the Father who sent him grew.
In order for what John Wesley called “Christian conferencing” to occur, classes were deliberately kept small. If they grew to a certain size, they were divided into two classes. For Wesley Christian conferencing was not only vital to the spiritual formation of a believer into a disciple, but also it was a means of grace, a means through which God’s sanctifying and perfecting grace worked in the heart and life of the believer.
The Covenant Discipleship Group, a contemporary version of John Wesley’s class, is typically no more than seven people in size. Seven people is the maximum number of people for an effective conversation in which all present take part. The group meets weekly for an hour, which gives everyone an opportunity to report on what is happening in their spiritual life and to receive the ministrations of the other group members.
The class or its modern-day equivalent, the Covenant Discipleship Group, provides an important element which is missing in many churches, both those in the Wesleyan tradition and those not in that tradition. This element is mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability.
never ending, never ending;
slow to anger, rich in mercy,
love goes on beyond all time.
Love is faithful, love is true,
ever joyful and forgiving;
love endures when life is over,
love is old and love is new.
Love alone has shaped our soul,
and our hearts are always restless
until love becomes our purpose,
new creation to unfold.
Love our journey, love our goal.
Though our faith may move mountains,
love alone can heal the broken;
only love will make us whole.
Love, our Savior’s one command:
“Love the way
that I have loved you,”
with a towel and a basin,
washing feet with servant hands.
There are three gifts that remain
when all other things have perished.
Only faith, hope, love enduring,
and the greatest gift is love.
SCRIPTURE
John 14:23-29 Love Expressed in Obedience
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them. Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am still with you. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.
“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father; for he is greater than I. I have told you this now before it all happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
Silence is kept.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
The Center of Our Lives
Have you ever met or known someone who told you that they loved you, but their actions did not match their words? They spent little time with you. You saw them all of the time with other people. They were slow to return your phone calls or to respond to your texts if they returned your phone calls or responded to your texts at all. They never remembered the special occasions such as your birthday. They didn’t even send you a birthday card or wish you happy birthday on Facebook. They were never around when you needed a shoulder to cry on or a word of encouragement. When you need a helping hand, they had something pressing that they had to do. They would be knocking at your door early in the morning or late at night when they need something from you.
In today’s reading—John 14: 23-29—Jesus points to the attention of his disciples that those who genuinely love him match their words with their actions. They do what he taught. Jesus further points to their attention that his teaching is not his own. It comes from the Father who sent him. It is God’s teaching.
Jesus taught his disciples to love God and to love others, describing as the essence of true religion the commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
He further taught his disciples to love their enemies and to do good to them; to be merciful as God is merciful; to treat others as they would wish themselves to be treated by others; to forgive the mistakes and faults of others and not to hold anything against them; not to be harsh in their judgment of others but to form their opinion of them, using the same measure as they would wish to be applied to themselves; to seek to be reconciled to those from whom they had become estranged; and to be compassionate, generous, and kind in their dealings with others.
Jesus also taught his disciples to believe in him, to trust the goodness of God, and to persevere in prayer; and to live godly lives, obeying and respecting God.
For those who wish to learn more about what Jesus taught and exemplified, I recommend that they read the four Gospels. I also recommend that they reflect upon each passage, jot down their thoughts in a notebook, and pray about what they have read. Ask the Holy Spirit to shed more light on a passage for them.
When we become a believer, we begin a lifetime of discipleship. We believe in Jesus’ teaching, and we endeavor to live according to what he taught. Having been put right with God by grace through faith in Jesus, we look to Jesus as our teacher and exemplar for guidance and direction on how to live in a manner that is pleasing to God.
This is an undertaking that is best pursued in the company of others who are also believers. We not only can offer each other encouragement and support but also hold each other accountable.
When John Wesley organized the early Methodists into classes and bands, he recognized the importance of mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability to the spiritual growth of followers of Jesus. In these small groups the early Methodists were able to “watch over one another in love” and to grow in Christian maturity and love of God. To Wesley’s organization of the early Methodists into classes and bands is attributed the success of the movement.
Sunday school classes and John Wesley’s classes are not the same thing. They serve entirely different purposes. The Sunday school originated as a scheme to give a basic and religious education to poor children who worked in the factories of England in the eighteenth century and whose only day off was Sunday. It would evolve into what we find in churches today.
At one point in its evolution, Sunday school included singing and prayers as well as religious instruction and Bible lessons, and attendance at a church’s Sunday school often rivaled or exceeded attendance at its church services. Some people would attend only a church’s Sunday school while others attended its church services. They did not attend both. In many instances the Sunday school operated independently of the church.
In the literature of the time the competition between a Sunday school and church services was a major cause for concern since the proper role of a Sunday school is ancillary to that of the church service. The teaching ministry of the Sunday school teacher is supposed to augment the teaching ministry of the pastor and not replace it. A Sunday school teacher might teach doctrines or interpret Scripture contrary to what the official positions of the church and the denomination with which the church was affiliated. In some instances, the rivalry between Sunday school and church caused church splits.
The purpose of John Wesley’s classes, however, was to foster the spiritual growth of the individual believer through mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability. The members of a class met weekly and shared with each other their progress in living the Christian faith and life according to Jesus’ teaching and example and in making use of the means of grace through which God enables the believer grow in Christian maturity, in maturity of character and love of God. They also shared with each other the obstacles and temptations which they faced and prayed for each other. The weekly class meeting helped its members to grow in faith, love, and obedience. As the class members matured as disciples, their love of Jesus and of the Father who sent him grew.
In order for what John Wesley called “Christian conferencing” to occur, classes were deliberately kept small. If they grew to a certain size, they were divided into two classes. For Wesley Christian conferencing was not only vital to the spiritual formation of a believer into a disciple, but also it was a means of grace, a means through which God’s sanctifying and perfecting grace worked in the heart and life of the believer.
The Covenant Discipleship Group, a contemporary version of John Wesley’s class, is typically no more than seven people in size. Seven people is the maximum number of people for an effective conversation in which all present take part. The group meets weekly for an hour, which gives everyone an opportunity to report on what is happening in their spiritual life and to receive the ministrations of the other group members.
The class or its modern-day equivalent, the Covenant Discipleship Group, provides an important element which is missing in many churches, both those in the Wesleyan tradition and those not in that tradition. This element is mutual encouragement and support and mutual accountability.
Its absence explains why many who call themselves Christians and describe themselves as followers of Jesus are at best lukewarm in their love of Jesus, in their devotion to his person, in their emulation of his character, and in their obedience to his teaching. It may also explain why they are not experiencing the kind of life transformation that a believer is supposed to experience once they have made a profession of faith in Jesus and have surrendered their life to him. It may in part account for the declining influence of Christianity in our culture and the preoccupation with politics and other worldly matters that we see in the local church today.
Loving Jesus is not a feeling or emotion which we muster by singing hymns and songs of praise and adoration or listening to a soloist, band, music group, or choir. Loving Jesus is an act of the will. We set our hearts on loving Jesus, as we set our hearts on loving God and loving others. It is God who by his grace enables us to take that important step. This act of will is not something that we do just once. It is something that we must keep doing over and over again. With the help of God’s grace, it will in time become the pattern of our life. For this reason, we can speak of growing in our love and knowledge of Jesus. He will come to have the full attention of our heart and our head. Jesus will become the center of our lives.
Silence is kept.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Open this link to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of our Lord’s Summary of the Law, “Jesus Creed.”
Jesus said
The first commandment is this:
Hear O Israel
The Lord our God is the only Lord.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Magnificat, “Song of Mary.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
In the power of the resurrection
we offer our prayers to God.
Let us pray.
Remember, O Lord, in your love
the Church throughout the world . . .
those recently baptized and confirmed . . .
those who minister to others . . .
Silence
May your whole Church know your power
and be a sign that Christ is risen.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love the world you have made . . .
those who seek a fair and proper use of the
world’s resources . . .
those who strive for justice and peace
among the nations . . .
Silence
May the whole earth be transformed by mercy and rejoice in hope.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who suffer . . .
the victims of violence and injustice . . .
those who mourn . . .
Silence
May all in need find comfort, strength and freedom in the living Christ.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who have died:
those who have confessed the faith
and those whose faith is known to you
alone.
Silence
May all your children receive grace and light according to their needs and come at last to share with all the saints in life eternal.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Gracious God, we ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty God,
you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples,
filling them with joy and boldness
to preach the gospel;
send us out in the power of the same Spirit
to witness to your redeeming love
and draw all people to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever.
Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear John L. Bell and Graham Maule’s “Sing Hey to the Carpenter.”
Come with me, come wander,
Come welcome the world,
Where strangers might smile
Or where stones may be hurled;
Come leave what you cling to,
Lay down what you clutch
And find, with hands empty,
That hearts can hold much.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come walk in my company,
Come sleep by my side,
Come savour a lifestyle
With nothing to hide;
Come sit at my table
And eat with my friends,
Discovering that love
Which the world never ends.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come share in my laughter,
Come close to my fears,
Come find yourself washed
With the kiss of my tears;
Come stand close at hand
While I suffer and die,
And find in three days
How I never will lie.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come leave your possessions,
Come share out your treasure,
Come give and receive
Without method or measure;
Come loose every bond
That’s restraining the spirit,
Enabling the earth
To be yours to inherit.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Saviour taught his disciples,
we pray:
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.
BLESSING
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from
the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Loving Jesus is not a feeling or emotion which we muster by singing hymns and songs of praise and adoration or listening to a soloist, band, music group, or choir. Loving Jesus is an act of the will. We set our hearts on loving Jesus, as we set our hearts on loving God and loving others. It is God who by his grace enables us to take that important step. This act of will is not something that we do just once. It is something that we must keep doing over and over again. With the help of God’s grace, it will in time become the pattern of our life. For this reason, we can speak of growing in our love and knowledge of Jesus. He will come to have the full attention of our heart and our head. Jesus will become the center of our lives.
Silence is kept.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Open this link to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of our Lord’s Summary of the Law, “Jesus Creed.”
Jesus said
The first commandment is this:
Hear O Israel
The Lord our God is the only Lord.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen.
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Liturgical Folk’s setting of the Magnificat, “Song of Mary.”
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
In the power of the resurrection
we offer our prayers to God.
Let us pray.
Remember, O Lord, in your love
the Church throughout the world . . .
those recently baptized and confirmed . . .
those who minister to others . . .
Silence
May your whole Church know your power
and be a sign that Christ is risen.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love the world you have made . . .
those who seek a fair and proper use of the
world’s resources . . .
those who strive for justice and peace
among the nations . . .
Silence
May the whole earth be transformed by mercy and rejoice in hope.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who suffer . . .
the victims of violence and injustice . . .
those who mourn . . .
Silence
May all in need find comfort, strength and freedom in the living Christ.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Remember in your love those who have died:
those who have confessed the faith
and those whose faith is known to you
alone.
Silence
May all your children receive grace and light according to their needs and come at last to share with all the saints in life eternal.
Lord of life,
hear us in your love.
Gracious God, we ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty God,
you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples,
filling them with joy and boldness
to preach the gospel;
send us out in the power of the same Spirit
to witness to your redeeming love
and draw all people to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever.
Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear John L. Bell and Graham Maule’s “Sing Hey to the Carpenter.”
Come with me, come wander,
Come welcome the world,
Where strangers might smile
Or where stones may be hurled;
Come leave what you cling to,
Lay down what you clutch
And find, with hands empty,
That hearts can hold much.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come walk in my company,
Come sleep by my side,
Come savour a lifestyle
With nothing to hide;
Come sit at my table
And eat with my friends,
Discovering that love
Which the world never ends.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come share in my laughter,
Come close to my fears,
Come find yourself washed
With the kiss of my tears;
Come stand close at hand
While I suffer and die,
And find in three days
How I never will lie.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
Come leave your possessions,
Come share out your treasure,
Come give and receive
Without method or measure;
Come loose every bond
That’s restraining the spirit,
Enabling the earth
To be yours to inherit.
Sing Hey for the carpenter
Leaving his tools!
Sing Hey for the Pharisees
Leaving their rules!
Sing Hey for the fishermen
Leaving their nets!
Sing Hey for the people
Who leave their regrets!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
As our Saviour taught his disciples,
we pray:
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.
BLESSING
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from
the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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