Sundays at All Hallows (September 21, 2025)

Welcome to Sunday at All Hallows.

In the introduction to last Sunday’s service, I mentioned the seventeenth century Anglican priest-poet George Herbert. Herbert wrote poetry throughout most of his life. From what I gather he wrote poetry largely if not exclusively on religious themes. His poetry reflects his own spiritual struggles which culminated in his ordination as deacon and then as a priest. Herbert’s ministry was brief. He died from consumption (tuberculosis), just short of his 40th birthday. On his death bed Hebert sent his poems to his friend, Nicholas Ferrar, the founder of the community at Little Gidding, instructing Ferrar to burn them if he thought they were of little value. Ferrar, however, published them. A number of them would eventually be set to music and sung as hymns and anthems. This Sunday’ service includes two of them—“The Call” and “Teach Me, My God and King.”

This Sunday’ message looks at how God was working in the life of another one of Christ's saints. 

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Hymn Tune Prelude on Orlando Gibbons’ SONG 13 for Piano.

Silence

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth. John 4:24

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and
just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9

So let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, and humbly confess our sins.

Silence

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much
the devices and the desires of our own hearts.
we have offended against your holy laws,
we have left undone what we ought to have done,
and we have done what we ought not to have done.
Yet, good Lord, have mercy on us;
restore those who are penitent,
according to your promises declared
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant, most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may live a godly, righteous, and sober lives,
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon
and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their
sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open our lips, O Lord;
And we shall declare your praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.

Open this link in a new tab to hear William Kethe’s “All People That o Earth Do Dwell (Psalm 100).”

1 All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him, and rejoice.

2 The Lord, ye know, is God indeed,
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

3 O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4 For why? the Lord our God is good:
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

5 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the Angel-host
Be praise and glory evermore. Amen.

Open this link to hear William Helder’s “Come Praise the Lord, His Might Proclaim (Psalm 113).”

1 Come praise the Lord, his might acclaim!
Let all his servants praise his name;
From now forevermore adore him.
From where the sun begins to rise
To where it sets in western skies,
Let all with praises come before him.

2 God far above all nations dwells;
His glory heav’nly heights excels,
For who compares in might and splendor,
With him, the Lord, who from his throne
On earth and heav’n looks down?
Let all to him their praises render.

3 God saves the needy from disgrace
And lift them to an honored place
Among the princes of his nation.
His favor makes the barren spouse
A joyful mother in her house.
Praised be the Lord with exultation.

Silence

From the rising of the sun to its setting
we praise your name, O Lord;
may your promise to raise the poor from the dust
and turn the fortunes of the needy upside down
be fulfilled in our time also,
as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the Book of Amos.
Amos 8: 4-7

Hear this, you who trample on the needy and destroy
the poor of the land, saying,
“When will the new moon
be over so that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath
so that we may offer wheat for sale,
make the ephah smaller, enlarge the shekel,
and deceive with false balances,
in order to buy the needy for silver
and the helpless for sandals,
and sell garbage as grain?”

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget what they have done.

Silence.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Andrew Earls’ arrangement of “Benedicite – a Song of Creation (shortened version)” from Common Worship.

1 Bless the Lord all you works of the Lord:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
2 Bless the Lord you heavens:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
3 Bless the Lord you angels of the Lord:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
4 Bless the Lord all people on earth:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
5 O people of God bless the Lord:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
6 Bless the Lord you priests of the Lord;
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
7 Bless the Lord you servants of the Lord:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.
8 Bless the Lord all you of upright spirit:
bless the Lord you that are holy and humble in heart;
bless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever.

A reading from Paul’s First Letter to Timothy.
1 Timothy 2: 1-7

First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Pray for kings and everyone who is in authority so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in complete godliness and dignity. This is right and it pleases God our savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a payment to set all people free. This was a testimony that was given at the right time. I was appointed to be a preacher and apostle of this testimony—I’m telling the truth and I’m not lying! I’m a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Christopher Idle’s “Glory in the Highest to the God of Heaven (Gloria in Excelsis).”

1 Glory in the highest to the God of heaven!
Peace to all your people through the earth be given!
Mighty God and Father, thanks and praise we bring,
singing Hallelujah to our heavenly king.

2 Jesus Christ is risen, God the Father's Son!
With the Holy Spirit you are Lord alone!
Lamb once killed for sinners, all our guilt to bear,
show us now your mercy, now receive our prayer.

3 Christ the world's true Saviour, high and holy One,
seated now and reigning from your Father's throne:
Lord and God, we praise you! Highest heaven adores:
in the Father's glory, all the praise be yours!

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.
Luke 16: 1-13

Jesus also said to the disciples, “A certain rich man heard that his household manager was wasting his estate. He called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of your administration because you can no longer serve as my manager.’

“The household manager said to himself, What will I do now that my master is firing me as his manager? I’m not strong enough to dig and too proud to beg. I know what I’ll do so that, when I am removed from my management position, people will welcome me into their houses.

“One by one, the manager sent for each person who owed his master money. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your contract, sit down quickly, and write four hundred fifty gallons.’ Then the manager said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ He said, ‘Take your contract and write eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted cleverly. People who belong to this world are more clever in dealing with their peers than are people who belong to the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it’s gone, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.

“Whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much, and the one who is dishonest with little is also dishonest with much. If you haven’t been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? If you haven’t been faithful with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? 13 No household servant can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Silence

One of Christ’s Saints

When I first attended university, I worked summers for the parish school board. In Louisiana counties are called parishes, a relic of the state’s French colonial past. I was employed by the school board’s maintenance department and assigned to work as a book clerk at the school board’s media center and textbook depository.

Among my duties were inventorying the textbooks on the shelves, unloading shipments of new textbooks, unboxing and shelving them, and making deliveries of new textbooks to school across the parish. The textbook depository shared a building with the media center and I became acquainted with the staff of the center. I got to know an older man who worked at the media center. His first name was Earnest. I don’t recollect his last name.

Earnest was a parishioner of Christ Church, the Episcopal church I attended as a teenager and where I was confirmed. Earnest had been a schoolteacher but had suffered a stroke. The stroke had paralyzed one arm, and he walked with a hobble, dragging one foot. He was, as I recall, a kind, generous soul.

Earnest’s name suited him. He persevered even when circumstances made it difficult or caused it to take a long time. They did not dampen his determination. 

I was to learn that on weeknights he regularly visited the inmates of the parish jail, those awaiting arraignment or trial or transfer to the state penitentiary as well as those serving out their sentences in the parish jail. As well as listening to their stories, he shared the gospel with them, offered them godly counsel and encouragement, prayed with them, and gave them tracts and other reading material.

I don’t know how many lives God touched through him. Nor do I know what the prisoner thought of him, hobbling along the jail’s corridors, stopping at their cells to talk to them. He was what the apostle James the elder described as “a doer of the word” (James 2:22-25) He took with all due seriousness Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:35-36, “’I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’”

It was very clear who his master was. It was not wealth. It was not fame and the adulation of the crowd. It was not power. It was Jesus Christ, “God in man, made manifest.”

Earnest was aging and gray-haired when I knew him. Like a number of the “saints, the called-out ones, I knew at Christ Church, he must have gone to his final rest and now awaits the resurrection. A collect from A New Zealand Prayer Book, which we will pray later in this service gives voice to the attitude that characterized him. It goes, “Eternal God, grant to us this day and every day such readiness and delight in following Christ, that whether our lives are short or long we shall have lived abundantly. Amen.” May God grant this prayer for all of us.

Silence

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on 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.

Lord, show us your mercy,
and grant us your salvation.
Keep our nation under your care,
and guide us in justice and truth.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness,
and make your chosen people joyful.
Lord, save your people,
and bless your inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord,
for you are our help and strength.
Create in us dean hearts, O God,
and renew us by your Holy Spirit.

Almighty and eternal God, grant that we may grow in faith, 

hope, and love; and that we may obtain what you promised, 

make us love what you command; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, the author and lover of peace, in knowledge of whom
stands our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom;
defend us your servants in all assaults of our enemies,
that, surely trusting in your defense, we may not fear the power
of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.

Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and
by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by
your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and
live every day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear George Herbert’s “The Call.”

1 Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife;
Such a life as killeth death.

2 Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a light as shows a feast;
Such a feast as mends in length;
Such a strength as makes his guest.

3 Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a joy as none can move;
Such a love as none can part;
Such a heart as joys in love.

[Let us pray for the Church]

Almighty and eternal God, you alone work great marvels:
send down your life-giving Spirit of grace on our bishops and other clergy, and on the congregations which they serve; and, in order that they may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing. Grant this, Lord, for the honour of our advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.


[Let us pray for all people according to their needs]

God of providence, God of love,
we pray for all people: make your way known to them, your saving power
among all nations.
We pray for the welfare of your Church throughout the world: guide and
govern it by your Holy Spirit, that all who call themselves Christians
may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit,
in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.
We commend to your fatherly goodness all who are afflicted or distressed
in mind, body, or circumstances (especially…). Relieve them according to their needs, giving them patience in their sufferings, and deliverance in their afflictions. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

[Let us pray for ourselves and others.]

Silence

Those preset may offer free petitions, intercessions, and thanksgivings for themselves and others, either silently or aloud.

Eternal God,
grant to us this day and every day
such readiness and delight in following Christ,
that whether our lives are short or long
we shall have lived abundantly.
Amen.

[Let us give thanks to God for his goodness.]

Almighty God and merciful Father,
we give you heart-felt thanks
for all your goodness and loving kindness to us
and to all people.
We bless you for our creation and preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such a sense of all your mercies,
that our hearts may be truly thankful,
and that we praise you,
not only with our lips but in our lives,
serving you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Almighty God, you have promised to hear the petitions of
those who ask in your Son’s name: mercifully accept us who
have now made our prayers to you; and grant us those things
which we have asked in faith according to your will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link In a new tab to hear George Herbert’s “Teach Me, My God and King.”

1 Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see;
And what I do in anything
To do it as for thee!

2 A man that looks on glass,
On it may stay his eye;
Or if he pleaseth, through it pass,
And then the heaven espy.

3 All may of thee partake;
Nothing can be so mean,
Which, with this tincture, 'for thy sake',
Will not grow bright and clean.

4 A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws,
Makes that and the action fine.

5 This is the famous stone
That turneth all to gold;
For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for less be told.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

The Lord be with you.
And also with you
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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.
2 Corinthians 13:14