The Parish of Louth and Deanery of Louthesk

The Parish of Louth and Deanery of Louthesk Weekly notes and information for 10th May 2020: 5th Sunday of Easter www.teamparishoflouth.org.uk Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In all we do, we seek to live out Jesus’ command to draw close to the love of God in worship, and to share this by loving our neighbour Collect Prayer at Daily Prayer during the week O ALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

At this time, if you are aware of anyone in pastoral need please e-mail [email protected] or ‘phone 07901 852198, 07500 965321 or 07734 871159.

A prayer for VE Day From the Act of Commitment for Peace Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves to serve you and all humankind, in the cause of peace, for the relief of want and suffering, and for the praise of your name. Guide us by your Spirit; give us wisdom; give us courage; give us hope; and keep us faithful now and always. Amen. https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week 2

DIARY OF PRAYER & WORSHIP THIS WEEK… Orders of service are printed on the pages that follow, and all services marked * are streamed via the Parish of Louth facebook page (www.facebook.com/louthchurch). (N.B.: You should not need to be signed up to Facebook to access this – just click ‘Not now’ if it asks you to sign up) Sunday 10th 10am Eucharist* Please join in at home 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 7.55-end; 1 Peter 2.2-10; John 14.1-14 6pm Simple Choral Evensong* Please join in at home Plainsong Resp. Ps. 147.1-12 Canticles: Sancti Jacobi Ludensis Brown Zachariah 4.1-10; Revelation 21.1-14 Lead me, Lord Wesley Monday 11th 9 15am Matins* Please join in at home Psalm 145; Numbers 9.15-end; 10.33-end; Luke 4.38-end 4pm Evening Prayer* Please join in at home Psalm 105; Deuteronomy 16.1-20; 1 Peter 1.1-12 7 30pm Compline* Please join in at home Tuesday 12th 9 15am Morning Prayer* Please join in at home Psalm 19; Numbers 11.1-33; Luke 5.1-11 11am Holy Communion* Please join in at home 11 30am ‘How to pray… with Psalms and the Daily Office’ Please join in online or by ‘phone. Go to: www.zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID: 885 1814 3817 and Password: 342479, or ‘phone 0203 481 5240 (and use the same ID and Password). 4pm Evening Prayer* Please join in at home Psalm 97; Deuteronomy 17.8-end; 1 Peter 1.13-end 7 30pm Compline* Please join in at home Wednesday 13th 9 15am Matins* Please join in at home Psalm 30; Numbers 12; Luke 5.12-26 3 30pm BBC Radio 3 Broadcast Service A pre-recorded service 7 30pm Compline* Please join in at home Thursday 14th 9 15am Matins* Please join in at home Psalm 16; 1 Samuel 2.27-35; Acts 2.37-end 4pm Evening Prayer* Please join in at home Psalm 80; 1 Samuel 16.1-13a; Matthew 7.15-27 7 30pm Compline* Please join in at home Friday 15th 9 15am Matins* Please join in at home Psalm 138; Numbers 14.1-25; Luke 6.1-11 4pm Evening Prayer* Please join in at home Psalm 66; Deuteronomy 21.22-22.8; 1 Peter 3.1-12 7 30pm Compline* Please join in at home

Saturday 16th 12 30pm Midday Prayer* Please join in at home

Sunday 17th 10am Eucharist* Please join in at home 6th SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 17.22-31; 1 Peter 3.13-end; John 14.15-21 6pm Plainsong Evensong* Please join in at home Plainsong Responses Ps. 87 Plainsong Canticles Zachariah 8.1-13; Rev. 21.22-22.5 The Lamb’s high banquet Plainsong

PRAYERS AND READINGS AT THE EUCHARIST ON SUNDAY …

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!.

Collect Prayer (that can be used each day during the week) Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires, so by your continual help we may bring them to good effect; through Jesus Christ our risen Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The First Lesson: Acts 7.55-end A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

Reader: This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

New Testament Reading: 1 Peter 2.2-10 A Reading from the first book of Peter. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner”, and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy 4 nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Reader: This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading: John 14.1-14 Reader: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. All: Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

Reader: This is the Gospel of the Lord. All: Praise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion Prayer Eternal God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life: grant us to walk in his way, to rejoice in his truth, and to share his risen life; who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

A Prayer for VE Day From the Act of Commitment for Peace Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves to serve you and all humankind, in the cause of peace, for the relief of want and suffering, and for the praise of your name. Guide us by your Spirit; give us wisdom; give us courage; give us hope; and keep us faithful now and always. Amen.

Spiritual Communion when unable to attend a celebration of the Eucharist If a household are praying together one person may act as leader and the others as the congregation and they join in the sections in bold type. If alone read all the words aloud. You may want to light a candle before you begin, and have a bible, cross or cruciﬁx to look at. The Lord is here. His Spirit is with us.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect Prayer and Readings (see pages 2-4 for details)

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, the needs of the world and for an end to the current Pandemic. End your intercessions with The Lord’s Prayer. 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: For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen. An Act of Contrition I love you, Jesus, my love above all things, and I repent with my whole heart of having offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again, grant that I may love you always, and then do with me what you will. An Act of Spiritual Reception In union, dear Father, with Christian people throughout the world and across the centuries gathered to make Eucharist, hearing your holy Word and receiving the Precious Body and Blood, I offer you praise and thanksgiving. Even though I am exiled from tasting the Bread of Heaven and drinking the Cup of Life I pray that you will unite me with all the baptised and with your Son who gave his life for us. Come Lord Jesus, dwell in me and send your Holy Spirit that I may be ﬁlled with your presence.

O LORD and heavenly Father, we your humble servants entirely desire your fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacriﬁce of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching you to grant, that by the merits and death of your Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all your whole Church may obtain remission of our sins, and all other beneﬁts of his passion. Amen. End by praying the Grace: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and evermore. Amen.

HOMILY ON THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL

In our readings today we have some strong echoes of the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. Although the event itself is not specifically mentioned in either the Gospel or Acts, it is the event that underlies them both. Stephen, the first Christian martyr is a fleeting character in Acts. He appears in chapter 6 as a forthright proclaimer of the veracity of the gospel, chosen by the people and anointed by the Apostles. He was clearly an effective speaker because it does not take long before he is plotted against, arrested on trumped up charges and put on trial where witnesses make false testimony against him. His life is over by the end of chapter 8 where incidentally we see the introduction of another new character, Saul. What really seals Stephen’s fate is of course his description of the vision he has of Heaven we hear at the beginning of our first reading today. In it he declares that he sees the heavens open and the ‘Son of Man’ standing at the right hand of God. In other words, the side of God’s favour. In the eyes of the council this was, of course, blasphemy and there is only one sentence for that… death! The first part of our Gospel reading from John is very well known especially to those of us who attend Christian funerals. What is known as the Farewell discourses in John are underway as Jesus seeks to prepare his closest followers for his imminent departure and seeks to reassure them that all will be well and remind them of the path he has prepared for them to follow, they know the way. He reminds them of his interrelatedness with the Father and that they can be confident in their proclamation of that understanding. Note Jesus never says that this will not get them into hot water. But rather that faith in that understanding will bring its reward. There is a sentence here though which has caused many a discussion to be had among people of faith since this time, and indeed some controversy as to how it should be understood. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” Many have stated that this saying points to the supremacy of Jesus as the only path to salvation. Fundamentally that is how it appears, but could the gospel author be pointing his readers back to the moment Jesus dies on the cross? We know that John’s Gospel was the last to be written and may well have known the stories in what we now call the Synoptic Gospels. The Temple in Jerusalem was known as the place where Earth and Heaven come together. In Matthew 27 verse 51 we see that at the moment of Jesus’ death the curtain in the temple, the barrier between where the people congregate and where God dwells is torn apart from top to bottom. It is rent asunder, thus opening the way for all and not just the elite, to God’s presence and the heavenly dwelling place. From this point on the people can bring their own petitions to God and meet him face to face. How might those two verses inform one another? Back to Stephen. The writer of Acts is not actually known but there is a strong acceptance that the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke also penned Acts. So, a final thought. In Luke 23: 34 Jesus, at the moment of his death, calls out “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” This is a glorious moment. A glimpse into the heart of Christ as even at that moment he calls for mercy on his executioners. With this in mind we turn to the final words of the battered and bleeding Stephen in his final moments as he too calls for God to forgive those who gave false testimony, who lied, who hurled rocks at him - who did away with him thinking that all this ‘Son of Man’ stuff would finally be put to an end. Those words, echoing his Lord and Saviour whom he had envisioned standing at God’s right hand in the Kingdom of Heaven, may have chilled their hearts -and also perhaps sent Saul off to Damascus somewhat less sure of his ground than he was before. Who knows? But we do know what happened to him next. Conversation Questions 1. What do you think was going through the disciples’ minds as they listened to Jesus telling them of his death? 2. What was it that drove the Council to sentence Stephen to death? 7

3. How do you think Stephen was able to forgive his executioners? 4. Is there anything else from the passage not already discussed that speaks to you? What is it? 5. What will you do this week in your Monday-to-Saturday ministry in response to what you have heard today? #everydayfaith

These resources are from the Diocese of Lincoln: The Homilies Project A series of homilies that may be used within the context of worship – together with some outlines of a form of worship you could use in the home. A meditation on the main Sunday readings is provided. https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/the-homilies-project

A MUSICAL REFLECTION from Allan Smith, Master of the Choristers New heaven and a new Earth. Since Easter Day, many people will have tucked into a chocolate egg or two. Christians, of course recognise the shape of the egg as a representation of the stone that rolled away in the story of Christ’s resurrection. In secular society, many people think of the Easter Bunny delivering its eggs. Both representing symbols of New Life. The idea of taking on something new, can be seen as a positive thing…something fresh, a replacement of something worn and tired. However, many people live by habits and change can be a very daunting process for many, providing stress and anxiety. There has been a lot of our society affected by the changes they have already had to made to their daily pattern, due to the need to minimise the transmission of COVID-19. For Christians, having a pattern of daily prayer and having regular services held and broadcast online, has helped many to keep something from the old way of life, and has helped to feel connected with our community. It has given strength. I would like to express my personal thanks to Nick and the clergy team for maintaining this regular pattern of worship for us. As we look to the future and see ways of returning to some sort of norm in society, albeit with many concessions having to be made, how can we gain strength to make the right decisions to shape our future? I have found the second reading from this Sunday’s Evensong to be a guiding light. In the Book of Revelation, Ch. 21 v1-14, St. John relays God’s vision for the future, that first was prophesied in Isaiah, Ch. 65 v17. The expression of a ‘New Earth’ Is one of the central doctrines of Christian eschatology (the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind). Worshipers make reference to it regularly in the Nicene Creed, “the world to come” and is also an appropriate text that can be used on Remembrance Sunday. In its context for during Eastertide, it relates to the New Life created through the resurrection. Not many composers have tried to set this visionary text to music. One of the most successful is a setting by the English composer, Edgar Bainton (1880-1956). Bainton spent much of his life in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as a teacher and principal at the local Conservatoire. At the beginning of the First World War, Bainton went abroad, and subsequently was interned in Ruhleben. He returned to Newcastle after the war. He was awarded an honorary DMus degree from Durham University, shortly before leaving England to become Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium in Sydney. He remained in Australia until his death in 1956.

In his anthem, And I Saw a New Heaven, Bainton sets the first four verses. His most memorable work, this anthem has been used in services of national importance, including the funeral of former President, Ronald Reagan, the Hillsborough Memorial Service in Liverpool Cathedral in 1989. and more recently for the Grenfell Tower Memorial Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Part of the anthem’s success lies in the composer’s ability to paint the vision, with the text at its heart. In the first part of the 19th century, church music was at a low ebb. The standard of singers in major parish churches or cathedrals was low. The musical writing of anthems for choirs were very simple and the role of the organ was often just to provide harmonic support to the choir. Thankfully, due in part to the Oxford Movement, liturgy and choral resources improved, allowing composers to write with greater imagination, and with organ accompaniments able to be an integral part of the composition, able to provide independent melodic lines, allowing more variety in texture, rather than a mere doubling of the choral parts. One of the greatest composers to help revive church music, many would say is Charles Villiers Stanford, who wrote a number of anthems in our repertoire at St. James’, including the great Easter anthem, ‘Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem’. Stanford learnt much from the great German romantic composer, Wagner. This included the style of writing in a symphonic style, unlike the less impressive verbal phrase to verbal phrase of the first half of the century. One of Stanford’s pupils was Edgar Bainton. His setting of ‘And I Saw a New Heaven’, incorporates this style of giving the organ and each vocal part, a part in the drama of the music. The music is sincere and not sentimental. Bainton constructs four distinct sections, one for each verse of the text. The work begins in D minor and overall evolves to D Major, akin to the John’s vision from an earthly to a heavenly realm. The composer used three different tonalities: In general they flow mellifluously from one tonal centre to the other, except for the change to Bb Major. This is deliberate on Bainton’s part, as it is at these points that the text refers to ‘New Jerusalem’ (the heavenly kingdom) and ‘Behold the Tabernacle of God’. This gives the heavenly kingdom an electrifying presence, where light shines boldly, in comparison to the more static earth. We get a wonderful fanfare effect in Verse 3, which is fitting as ‘trumpets’ feature frequently throughout the Book of Revelation. The regal nature of verse 3 transforms into something more lyrical and calm at the beginning of verse 4. The text also shifts from first- person to third-person here. The ‘motif’ from the opening verse returns here, initiated by the tenors. Bainton’s overall choice of harmony is grounded in that of the late nineteenth-century. In addition to this, he uses specific moments to spice up the harmony with chromatic and diminished based harmonies. Bainton creates moments of tension and resolution, to illustrate the mood at that point in the anthem. For example, listen to how he colours the word ‘pain’ in verse 4 with striking dissonance. The sonorities are at times incredibly colourful in this piece. At the end of the first verse, he uses a long held note (pedal note) while impressionistic harmonies shift above, resolving to a bright D Major chord on the word, “Sea”, suggesting that the period of travel from the earthly kingdom has finished and arrival has been made at the thrilling, heavenly kingdom. The textual image of dispersing water, also is present in Verse 4: “And God

9 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Bainton makes an effective change of pitch, descending by step, each time the word is sung throughout the vocal parts. Bainton certainly knows how to use a rich palette of harmony, still making it pleasing to the listener’s ears. He manages to skilfully create music which maintains the mystical imagery of the text. It is clear that Bainton is a composer who doesn’t detach himself to the deep meaning of the words. Perhaps this choral gem will continue to help those in need, in times of national crisis and as we prepare for what is yet to come. And I Saw a New Heaven, by Edgar Bainton in a performance by King’s College Choir, Cambridge: https://youtu.be/Lyy7RWXAV9QJ

PRAYING WITH… …the Psalms and the Daily Offices The second of our Month of Prayer sessions will explore the use of psalms within the prayers of the Church, and how the Daily Office shapes the prayer of the Church and can be a tool to shape our own lives of prayer. Since the very beginning of the Church the psalms have been an influential source for prayer and worship. This is partly a practical consequence of the continuity with Jewish practice, and is referred to in the biblical accounts not only of the early Church (especially in the various letters of Paul, but also in the Gospel accounts of Jesus own praying practices. The psalms provide a rich repository of meditations, reflections and songs that touch the whole range of human emotion, and draw on the story of Israel to recount the human encounter with (and indeed often puzzlement about) God. Whilst many will have encountered the psalms either as prose, or in hymn translations, they were originally poetic works in the Hebrew language. A strong characteristic of Hebrew poetry is (contrary to much poetry that we are used to) not based on rhyme, but on poetic parallelism of images – where two parts of a verse either complement each other, offer contrasting images or further elucidate one another. Within the first centuries of the Church’s life the reciting of psalms became central to worship – both within the tradition of those who retreated from daily life, and in the worship of the communities gathering in cities. The practice of the church in Milan, at the time when Saint Ambrose was archbishop, and when Saint Augustine was converted to Christianity was practically influential – with the psalms being sung antiphonally by contrasting groups within the gathering. Although bourne of a city congregation in a cathedral, this way of singing the psalms became a core part of the monastic tradition, and is at the heart of the Daily Offices that shape the monastic day, and mark out the day in our own tradition of Common Prayer within the Church of England. At the heart of the daily offices is the recitation of psalms – often antiphonally spoken or sung. In a monastic setting these are often the predominant feature of the Daily Offices – with the addition of a short verse from scripture for mediation, and a set pattern of prayers. TO mark important hours of the day, this pattern sees the addition of a canticle drawn from Luke’s gospel – the Benedictus in the morning, the Magnificat in the afternoon, and Nunc Dimittis in the evening. With the addition, as a result of the Reformation focus on reading scripture of significant readings from Old and New Testament, this basic pattern is at the heart of the Common Prayer of the Church of England (whether in the context of the traditional Book of Common Prayer or the more recent Common Worship: Daily Prayer).

Within the offices, the practice of antiphonal singing or speaking of the psalms, provides an intensely meditative focus where, once the words have become familiar, the focus on breathing, singing and praying together join those present not only in the speaking of words, but in worshipping with one voice and one breath whilst the familiar words that pass our lips touch our hearts and lodge in our minds – a source for ongoing meditation and a means to shape our day in prayer. The Rev’d Nick Brown To join the next of our online ‘Praying with…’ sessions at 11 30am on Tuesday morning, please go to: www.zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID: 885 1814 3817 and Password: 342479

JOINING IN WORSHIP with Facebook and Pow-Wow All our worship is being streamed on the Parish of Louth facebook page. You do not need a Facebook account to view these services – just click on ‘Not know’ when it asks you to sign up. www.facebook.com/louthchurch/live

The Sunday morning and evening services are accessible by ‘phone. Please ‘phone Tiffany Noden on 01507 600929 for the ID number that you will need in order to access the service. At 10am or 6pm on Sunday, please join the service by calling 0330 336 0036 – you will be asked to enter the ID to access the service. SOME MORE RESOURCES FOR REFLECTION

Parish of Louth on Facebook So far as possible, all services are being streamed on Facebook Live (you do not need to be a registered facebook user to access this – please click on the ‘Not now’ button when it asks you to sign in): https://www.facebook.com/louthchurch Parish of Louth website: Downloadable resources (including this leaflet), an uploaded broadcast of Sunday Eucharist from St James, and regular video meditations: www.teamparishoflouth.org.uk Deanery of Louthesk: The Confraternity of St Herefrith Video and other prayer resources will be available from the confraternity’s website, including a regular meditations by members of the clergy serving the Deanery of Louthesk. https://herefrith.org/confraternity-resources/video/ Society of Jesus: Resources for daily reflection: A general resource for daily reflection: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/how-can-i-pray/ A resource for reflection for families: https://www.dsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/STF-Daily-Examen-for-Families.pdf Church of England: Daily HOPE: A free phone line of hymns, prayers and reflections (24 hours a day): 0800 804 8044

Matins and Evening Prayer: An Order of Service If used in the context of a family or household the words in bold are said by all. If said alone, all words are spoken by the individual praying. Along with this order of service you will need a Bible for the psalm and readings. Details of which psalm and readings to use are found on page 3 of this booklet. O Lord, open thou our lips. And our mouths shall shew forth thy praise. O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Praise ye the Lord. The Lord's name be praised. The Word of God Say or recite the Easter Anthems (at Matins), and the appointed Psalm. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast; Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8 Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin: but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6.9-11 Christ is risen from the dead: and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death: by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die: even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor 15. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; 20-22 As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

The Psalm ends with the ‘Gloria patri’: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A Reading from The Old Testament. (See page 3 for details)

Say or sing the Canticle; either the Benedictus (at Matins) or Magnificat (at Evening Prayer): Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: My soul doth magnify the Lord: for he hath visited and redeemed and my spirit hath rejoiced in God his people; And hath raised up a my Saviour. For he hath regarded: mighty salvation for us: in the the lowliness of his handmaiden. house of his servant David; As he For behold, from henceforth: all spake by the mouth of his holy generations shall call me blessed. prophets: which have been since For he that is mighty hath the world began; That we should magnified me: and holy is his be saved from our enemies: and Name. And his mercy is on them from the hands of all that hate us; that fear him: throughout all To perform the mercy promised to generations. He hath shewed our forefathers: and to remember strength with his arm: he hath his holy covenant; To perform the scattered the proud in the oath which he sware to our imagination of their hearts. He forefather Abraham: that he hath put down the mighty from would give us; That we being their seat: and hath exalted the delivered out of the hand of our humble and meek. He hath filled enemies: might serve him without the hungry with good things: and fear; In holiness and righteousness the rich he hath sent empty away. before him: all the days of our life. He remembering his mercy hath And thou child shalt be called the holpen his servant Israel as he Prophet of the Highest: for thou promised to our forefathers, shalt go before the face of the Lord Abraham and his seed for ever. to pre pare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people: for the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us; To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.-

A Reading from The New Testament. (See page 3 for details)

At Evening Prayer, we also say the Nunc Dimittis: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

The Creed You may wish to stand to say 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 Prayers The Lesser Litany, Lord’s Prayer and Prayers: The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.

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.

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us. And grant us thy salvation. O Lord, save the Queen. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. Endue thy ministers with righteousness. And make thy chosen people joyful. O Lord, save thy people. And bless thine inheritance. Give peace in our time, O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God. O God, make clean our hearts within us. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us. These Prayers end with one or more Collects for the Day (see page 1) and the following morning or evening Collects: O God, who art the author of peace O God, from whom all holy desires, all and lover of concord, in knowledge good counsels, and all just works do of whom standeth our eternal life, proceed; give unto thy servants that whose service is perfect freedom; peace which the world cannot give; defend us thy humble servants in all that both, our hearts may be set to assaults of our enemies; that we, obey thy commandments, and also surely trusting in thy defence, may that, by thee, we being defended not fear the power of any from the fear of our enemies may adversaries; through the might of pass our time in rest and quietness; Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, who Lighten our darkness, we beseech hast safely brought us to the thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy beginning of this day; defend us in defend us from all perils and dangers the same with thy mighty power; of this night; for the love of thy only and grant that this day we fall into no Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. sin, neither run into any kind of Amen. danger, but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A time for Reflection You may find this a good time to play a piece of recorded music or listen to one of the podcasts/video meditations. The Conclusion The service ends by praying the Grace: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and evermore. Amen.

Amoretti LXVIII: Easter by Edmund Spencer

Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day, Didst make thy triumph over death and sin: And having harrow'd hell, didst bring away Captivity thence captive, us to win: This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin, And grant that we for whom thou diddest die, Being with thy dear blood clean wash'd from sin, May live for ever in felicity. And that thy love we weighing worthily, May likewise love thee for the same again: And for thy sake, that all like dear didst buy, With love may one another entertain. So let us love, dear love, like as we ought, Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Compline (or Night Prayer): An Order of Service

The Preparation The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.

Brethren, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith.

But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Thanks be to God

Our help is in the name of the Lord who hath made heaven and earth. Silence is kept. We confess to God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.

Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Turn us, O God our Saviour. And let thine anger cease from us. O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Praise ye the Lord. The Lord’s name be praised. The Office Hymn

Before the ending of the day, Creator of the world, we pray That with thy wonted favour thou Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our eyes From nightly fears and fantasies; Tread under foot our ghostly foe, That no pollution we may know.

O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son; Who with the Holy Ghost and thee, Doth live and reign eternally. Amen. The Word of God Verses from Psalm 4, or another suitable psalm are said or sung.

Antiphon (which may be said before and after the psalm) Have mercy upon me, O God, and hearken unto my prayer.

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble; have mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye blaspheme mine honour: and have such pleasure in vanity, and seek after leasing? Know this also, that the Lord hath chosen to himself the man that is godly: when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still. Offer the sacrifice of righteousness: and put your trust in the Lord. There be many that say: Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up: the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart: since the time that their corn, and wine, and oil increased. I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest: for it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

A Reading from the Old and/or New Testament is read. The following suggested readings may be suitable: You, O Lord, are in the midst of us and we are called by your name; leave us not, O Lord our God. Jeremiah 14.9 The servants of the Lamb shall see the face of God, whose name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night: they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22.4, 5

Responsory Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. For thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth; I commend my spirit. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Keep me as the apple of an eye; Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

Gospel Canticle: Nunc Dimittis Antiphon (which may be said before and after the canticle) Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. The Prayers Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.

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.

A time of prayer ends with the following or another suitable Collect: 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. The Conclusion We will lay us down in peace and take our rest. For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us dwell in safety. Abide with us, O Lord for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. As the watchmen look for the morning so do we look for thee, O Lord.

The Lord be with you and with thy spirit. Let us bless the Lord Thanks be to God.

The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless us and preserve us. Amen. © Common Worship, material from which is included in these services, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2000.

NEWS AND NOTES A short newsletter available this week, with details of activities taking place and things that people have been doing during the lockdown period. As well as work that has been carried out on behalf of the Church by the Ministry Team, it would be good to include anything other people have been doing to sustain themselves, or support others at this time. Please send any information (and any pictures!) to [email protected]. In our prayers this week… All those affected by the current pandemic The Sick and those in need: Peggy Baillie, Anne-Marie Bidwell, Helen Blakey, Hildegard Deetmer-Beecroft, Nigel Goy, Rosemary Huke, Corie Langford, Christina Livesey, Roly Livesey, Mal Locking, Brian Luckwell, Anna Mamwell, Alan Pounds, Sylvia Pounds, Eileen Robinson, Marjorie Spendlow, Enid Spicer, Pauline Watson, Stuart Watson, Elaine Wedge Those who have died: Michael Robinson, Gordon Ward, Sarita Kincaid, Patricia Williams, Iris Balthasar, Brian Ward, Martin Ward, James Parker, Derek Wardle, Jane Dickinson PARISH CONTACTS Deanery Office 01507 610247 Trinity Centre 01507 605803 [email protected] [email protected] For Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals and other enquiries For matters relating to activities at Trinity Centre Safeguarding concerns 01507 610752 For information about how to respond to safeguarding concerns, or for sources of support, please see Safeguarding Notices in church porches