Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, November 9, 2023)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

With Halloween now behind us, many Americans are looking forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. Thanksgiving is not just a day to gather with family and overindulge in food. It is a day to give thanks to God for all the mercies, great and small, which God has shown us. Christmas is more than one day. It is twelve days in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah and the hope of the nations, our Savior and Lord. New Year’s Eve is not just a time in which we usher out the old year and usher in the new year but more importantly it is a time to rededicate ourselves to God’s service.

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

A lamp or a candle may be lit.

Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe!
Your word brings on the dusk of evening.
Your wisdom creates both night and day.
You determine the cycles of time.
You arrange the successions of seasons
and establish the stars in their heavenly courses.
Lord of the starry hosts is your name.
Living and eternal God, rule over us always.
Blessed be the Lord, whose word makes evening fall.

As this evening hymn is sung, more lamps and candles may be lit.

Open this link to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase of the Phos hilaron, “O Light Whose Splendor Thrills and Gladdens.”

O Light whose splendor thrills and gladdens
with radiance brighter than the sun,
pure gleam of God's unending glory,
O Jesus, blest Anointed One;

as twilight hovers near at sunset,
and lamps are lit, and children nod,
in evening hymns we lift our voices
to Father, Spirit, Son: one God.

In all life's brilliant, timeless moments,
let faithful voices sing your praise,
O Son of God, our Life-bestower,
whose glory lightens endless days.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hand.
To dispel the darkness of our night,
you sent forth your Son, the first-born of creation.
He is our Christ, the light of the world,
and him we acclaim, as all creation sings to you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Will Chiles’ choral arrangement of Psalm 141 from the Bay Psalm Book (1640).

O God, my Lord, on thee I call,
do thou make hast to me:
and hearken thou unto my voice,
when I cry unto thee.

And let my pray’r directed be
as incense in thy sight:
and the up-lifting of my hands
as sacrifice at night.

Jehovah, oh that thou would’st set
a watch my mouth before:
as also of my lips with care
O do thou keep the door.

Bow not my heart to evil things;
to do the wicked deed
with wicked workers: and let not
me of their dainties feed.

Like unto one who on the earth
doth cut and cleave the wood,
ev’n so our bones at the graves mouth
are scattered abroad.

But unto thee O God, the Lord
directed are mine eyes:
my soul O leave not destitute,
on thee my hope relies.

Silence

Lord God, our protector and guide,
who made us knowing both good and evil,
help us to desire all that is good,
that the offering of our lives may be acceptable to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link to hear Andrea Sandifer’s “Call Me In,” based on Psalm 143.

Lord, I seek you
I trust in you
My faith is in you, Lord
Lead me far from my heart’s desire
My understanding, Lord

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

The dawn of morning
Sheds light on your unfailing love
Yet, my soul seeks out
My days ordained
Secured in heaven above

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

On holy knees, Lord,
prayers lifted
Jesus sought your will removed
Yet body weak and spirit willing
Your plan shone through

Forgive me my desire
To clearly see
What lies before me,
No, Spirit lead me on level ground
The way that I should go

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

Call me in
Lift my soul
Be my guide
Spirit alone
Call me in
Draw me close
Father, God
Your will alone

Silence

Jesus, our companion,
when we are driven to despair,
help us, through the friends and strangers
we encounter on our path,
to know you as our refuge,
our way, our truth and our life. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ephrem Feeley’s choral arrangement of the Irish prayer Ag Chríost an Síol, “To Christ the Seed.”

To Christ the seed, to Christ the harvest;
may we be gathered into the barns of God
To Christ the sea, and all within it;
May we be captured within God’s nets.

From growth to age, from age to death,
Your arms, O Christ, surround us.
From our death to the end, not end but rebirth:
in blessed Paradise may we be!

To Christ, our lives; to Christ our being.
In Christ we live, and have our being.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 25: 1-13)

“At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there were ten young women who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and the other five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them, while the wise ones took containers full of oil for their lamps. The bridegroom was late in coming, so they began to nod and fall asleep.

“It was already midnight when the cry rang out, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come and meet him!’ The ten young women woke up and trimmed their lamps. Then the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Let us have some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ‘No, indeed,’ the wise ones answered, ‘there is not enough for you and for us. Go to the store and buy some for yourselves.’ So the foolish ones went off to buy some oil; and while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was closed.

“Later the others arrived. ‘Sir, sir! Let us in!’ they cried out. ‘Certainly not! I don't know you,’ the bridegroom answered.”

And Jesus concluded, “Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Kate Bluett’s paraphrase of the Magnificat, “Mary’s Hymn of Praise.”

1 My soul proclaims God’s greatness,
rejoicing in the Lord
who looks upon my meekness,
as ages will behold.
Now God does great things for me,
and holy is God’s name.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!

2 In every generation
God pours such mercy down,
shows might before the nations,
and scatters all the proud.
God lifts up all the humble,
casts princes down in shame.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!

3 Rejoice now in God’s promise
to Sarah and Abraham
and all of their descendants,
to keep us in God’s hand.
God fills the poor and hungry
and sends the rich away.
My spirit sings God’s wonders,
and oh! my soul proclaims!

What Every Good Boy Scout Knows

When my mother was head teacher at a village school in Suffolk, she accompanied the village Scouts on a camping trip to the cliffs overlooking the North Sea at a nearby coastal town. They were students at her school, and she accompanied them in her role as their teacher. She brought my older brother and I with her.

We rode on bicycles from the village where we lived to the village where the school was located and from there we rode to the camp site. The trip was between 18 to 28 miles altogether. We carried everything we needed for the campout with us—tents, ground clothes, bedding, food, cooking utensils, primus stoves, methylated spirits, first aid kits, bicycle tire repair kits—if we thought of it, we brought it. We were prepared for just about any contingency. My mother was a seasoned camper, and the village Scouts took seriously the Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” It was my first Scout campout and for a number of years it proved to be my last one.

Years later I became active in the Boy Scouts when my oldest grandnephew joined the Cub Scouts. His father was a firefighter and was not available due to the nature of his work. His grandfather, who had been a Boy Scout, no longer took an interest in Scouting. Unlike my brother, I had never been a Scout, but had been an avid reader of the Boy Scout magazine, Boy's Life, when I was younger, and I had absorbed the contents of an old Boy Scout Manual, which had come into my possession. My family had done a lot of camping when I was a teenager, my mother and I had taken my nieces on a number of camping trips when they were girls, and I enjoyed camping, hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities. I became a stand-in for my grandnephew’s father and grandfather. I would eventually become a member of his Scout Troop’s committee and its Troop chaplain.

Among the things that Scouting does is to equip the boys with skills which will be useful to them not just as Scouts but also later in life and nurtures in them interests which may become lifelong ones. It helps to shape their character and encourages in them a community spirit, a “willingness and desire to participate in activities that promote a community.”

In this evening’s reading Jesus emphasizes the important of being prepared—not for every contingency as in the case of the Scouts but for his return. He tells his disciples the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

If you have seen the lamps which were used at that time, you realize how foolish the young women who did not bring extra oil with them were. The lamps are very small. One will fit in the palm of the hand. It was commonsense to bring extra oil to replenish such a small lamp. Since it was dark when they went to purchase oil, one is prompted to wonder if they found an oil dealer whose shop was open or had the money to purchase the needed oil. One or more of their lamps may have run out of oil and they may have stumbled around in the dark. They may have had to return home before going back to the wedding feast, only to be turned away by the bridegroom. The point of the story would not have been lost on Jesus’ disciples.

Earlier on Jesus had admitted to his disciples that he did not know when he would return. He also told them that a lot would happen before his return. However, his return would take everyone by surprise. He would return when he was least expected. Consequently, his disciples need to be prepared. They not only needed to be watching for is return but also they needed to be doing the work that he had given them to do. Jesus also warned them about the danger of becoming distracted from doing that work.

The work for which Jesus equipped the disciples are the tasks to which he calls each generation of his followers. Here are a few of them.

Honor, revere, and obey God.

Treat others as we would wish to be treated ourselves;

Tell people about Jesus;

Make new disciples;

Baptize them and instruct them;

Serve Jesus in the poor and the needy, in the homeless, in prisoners and captives, in the sick, and in immigrants;

Pursue holiness.

It is this work which we need to be doing while we watch for Jesus’ return, Those who go about the tasks which Jesus has given to his disciples will be like the five wise virgins who took containers of oil for their lamps with them. They were prepared! Jesus is telling us that we need to be prepared too!

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s “I Believe in God the Father.”

I believe in God the Father
who created heaven and earth,
holding all things in his power,
bringing light and life to birth.

I believe in God the Savior,
Son of Man and Lord most high,
crucified to be redeemer,
raised to life that death may die.

I believe in God the Spirit,
wind of heaven and flame of fire,
pledge of all that we inherit,
sent to comfort and inspire.

Honor, glory, might and merit
be to God, and God alone!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One-in-Three and Three-in-One.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy,

For this dwelling (house, apartment, condo, common room, etc.), and for all who offer here their worship and praise.
Lord, have mercy.

For the health of the creation, for abundant harvests that all may share,
and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For public servants, for government, and those who protect us;
for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing and protection
In this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who travel, for those who are sick and suffering,
and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For deliverance in times of affliction, wrath, danger, and need,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For …… our pastor and all servants of the church, for this gathering,
and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Other petitions may be added.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

Silence

Giving thanks for all who have gone before us and are at rest, rejoicing in the communion of …… and all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to you. Through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.

Creator God,
you have filled the world with beauty:
open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works.
that, rejoicing in your whole creation,
we may learn to serve you with gladness,
for the sake of him through whom all things were made,
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us join together in the prayer Jesus gave us.

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, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May God, Creator, bless us and keep us,
may Christ be ever light for our lives,
may the Spirit of Love be our guide and path,
for all our days. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear John Fennelly’s “Christ Be Near at Either Hand.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCe0TvcUGIc

1 Christ be near at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand;
Christ with me where'er I go,
Christ around, above, below.

2 Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined;
Christ control my wayward heart;
Christ abide and ne'er depart.

[Instrumental interlude]

3 Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern night and day;
Christ be my unchanging friend,
Guide and shepherd to the end.

Those present may share a sign of peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.