Note: We invite you to light a candle
Leader: I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall. Psalm 16:7,8
THE CONFESSION OF SIN
Leader: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
All: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Leader: Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
All: Amen.
THE INVITATORY AND PSALTER
Leader: O God, make speed to save us.
All: O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia.
Please recite together.
O GRACIOUS LIGHT: PHOS HILARON
O gracious light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behld the vesper light, we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of Life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Psalm 18: Part II Et retribuet mihi
21 The Lord rewarded me because of my righteous dealing; * because my hands were clean he rewarded me;
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord * and have not offended against my God;
23 For all his judgments are before my eyes, * and his decrees I have not put away from me; 24 For I have been blameless with him * and have kept myself from iniquity;
25 Therefore the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, * because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
26 With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God; * with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
27 With the pure you show yourself pure, * but with the crooked you are wily.
28 You will save a lowly people, * but you will humble the haughty eyes.
29 You, O Lord, are my lamp; * my God, you make my darkness bright.
30 With you I will break down an enclosure; * with the help of my God I will scale any wall.
31 As for God, his ways are perfect; the words of the Lord are tried in the fire; * he is a shield to all who trust in him.
32 For who is God, but the Lord? * who is the Rock, except our God?
33 It is God who girds me about with strength * and makes my way secure.
34 He makes me sure-footed like a deer * and lets me stand firm on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle * and my arms for bending even a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me your shield of victory; * your right hand also sustains me; your loving care makes me great.
37 You lengthen my stride beneath me, * and my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursue my enemies and overtake them; * I will not turn back till I have destroyed them. 39 I strike them down, and they cannot rise; * they fall defeated at my feet.
40 You have girded me with strength for the battle; * you have cast down my adversaries beneath me; you have put my enemies to flight.
41 I destroy those who hate me; they cry out, but there is none to help them; * they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer.
42 I beat them small like dust before the wind; * I trample them like mud in the streets.
43 You deliver me from the strife of the peoples; * you put me at the head of the nations.
44 A people I have not known shall serve me; no sooner shall they hear than they shall obey me; * strangers will cringe before me.
45 The foreign peoples will lose heart; * they shall come trembling out of their strongholds. 46 The Lord lives! Blessed is my Rock! * Exalted is the God of my salvation!
47 He is the God who gave me victory * and cast down the peoples beneath me.
48 You rescued me from the fury of my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; * you saved me from my deadly foe.
49 Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O Lord, * and sing praises to your Name.
50 He multiplies the victories of his king; * he shows loving-kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants for ever
TTHE FIRST LESSON: A READING FROM THE BOOK OF Jeremiah 38:1-13
38Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, 2Thus says the LORD, Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live. 3Thus says the LORD, This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and be taken. 4Then the officials said to the king, ‘This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.’ 5King Zedekiah said, ‘Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you.’ 6So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
7 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,* a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate, 8So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, 9‘My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.’ 10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,* ‘Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.’ 11So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of* the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian* said to Jeremiah, ‘Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.’ Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Leader: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Please recite together
THE SONG OF SIMEON: NUNC DIMITTIS
Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
THE SECOND LESSON: A READING FROM THE BOOK OF 1 Corinthians 14:26-33,37-40
26 What should be done then, my friends?* When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. 32And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,
37 Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. 38Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. 39So, my friends,* be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40 but all things should be done decently and in order.
A READING FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 10:34-42
34 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
** REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS **
Please recite together.
THE APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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 PRAYERS
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Let us pray.
All: 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.
SUFFRAGE A
V. Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let your people sing with joy.
V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let your way be known upon earth;
R. Your saving health among all nations.
V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.
A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION:
Leader: O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ.
All: Amen.
A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Leader: Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
All: Amen.
A PRAYER FOR THE HUMAN FAMILY:
All: O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Leader: Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake.
All: Amen.
** Friends, who can we pray for tonight?
Let us offer up our intercessions & thanksgivings **
Prayers for the repose of the souls of all who have died from Covid-19. We pray for their grieving families, and for all those who may be suffering in mind, body and spirit Dr. John Abraham, Generosa Aceveda, Jim Adams, Bernard Anderson, Harold Carrington, Matthew Cassone, Gweneth Chase, Trevor Chase, Juli Collazo, Carole Cramer, George Cramer, Paul DeFelice, Michael DeLuca, Jr., Francine Densieski, Arthur Elwell, Anthony Esposito, Ray Gant, Dillon Gonzalez, Henrietta Gowac, Dice Grigg, Christopher Guarente, Dan Italiano, Pauline Johnson, Chris Kilpert, Robert Lane, and all those on our prayer list.
• Prayers for all those who may feel alone, hopeless or in despair
• Prayers for all school students, teachers, principals, school staff and parents during these challenging times.
• Prayers for all who are without a job, source of income or food insecurity
• Prayers for our St. John’s and Canterbury House family
THE GENERAL THANKSGIVING:
All: Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, 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 an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
A PRAYER OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM:
Leader: Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting.
All: Amen.
Leader: Let us bless the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Leader: Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
Ephesians 3:20, 21
All: Amen.
Have a restful night!
Comments