Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

With Solemn Faith We Offer Up

Charles Wesley

With solemn faith we offer up
And spread, O God, before thine eyes
That only ground of all our hope,
That precious, once-made sacrifice,
Which brings thy grace on sinners down,
And perfects all our souls in one.

Acceptance through his holy name,
Forgiveness in his blood we have;
But more abundant life we claim
Through him who died our souls to save,
To sanctify us by his blood
And fill with all the life of God.

As it were slain behold thy Son,
And hear his blood that speaks above;
Oh let us all thy grace be shown,
Peace, righteousness, and joy, and love:
Thy kingdom come to every heart,
And all thou hast, and all thou art.

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Bless be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

Psalm 11

𝙍: The LORD is on His heavenly throne.

In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:

“Flee like a bird to your mountain!
For behold, the wicked bend their bows.
They set their arrow on the string
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” 𝙍

The LORD is in His holy temple;
the LORD is on His heavenly throne.
His eyes are watching closely;
they examine the sons of men.
The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked;
His soul hates the lover of violence.
On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their portion.

For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice.
The upright will see His face.

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.

𝙍: The LORD is on His heavenly throne.

Psalm prayer

God of heaven,
when the foundations are shaken
and there is no escape,
test us, but not to destruction,
look on the face of your anointed
and heal us in Jesus Christ your Son.

Psalm 12

𝙍: You, O LORD, will keep us.

Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.
They say, “With our tongues we will prevail.
We own our lips—who can be our master?” 𝙍

“For the cause of the oppressed
and for the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

The words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace,
like gold purified sevenfold.
You, O LORD, will keep us;
You will forever guard us from this generation.
The wicked wander freely,
and vileness is exalted among men.

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.

𝙍: You, O LORD, will keep us.

Psalm prayer

Lord, when faith is faint
and speech veils our intentions,
restore us by your word of power and purity,
both now and forever.

Psalm 13

𝙍: I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice — my appeal for mercy.

How long, O LORD?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I wrestle in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart each day?
How long will my enemy dominate me? 𝙍

Consider me and respond, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes rejoice when I fall.

But I have trusted in Your loving devotion;
my heart will rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for He has been good to me.

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.

𝙍: I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice — my appeal for mercy.

Psalm prayer

Jesus Christ, Son of God,
who passed through the dark sleep of death,
remember those who cry to you
in shame and silence and defeat
and raise them to your risen life,
for you are alive and reign forever.

Old Testament reading

Micah 3

Then I said:

“Hear now, O leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice?
You hate good and love evil.
You tear the skin from my people
and strip the flesh from their bones.
You eat the flesh of my people
after stripping off their skin
and breaking their bones.
You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”

Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but He will not answer them.
At that time He will hide His face from them
because of the evil they have done.

This is what the LORD says:

“As for the prophets
who lead My people astray,
who proclaim peace
while they chew with their teeth,
but declare war against one
who puts nothing in their mouths:
Therefore night will come over you without visions,
and darkness without divination.
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
Then the seers will be ashamed
and the diviners will be disgraced.
They will all cover their mouths
because there is no answer from God.”

As for me, however, I am filled with power
by the Spirit of the LORD,
with justice and courage,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.

Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who despise justice
and pervert all that is right,
who build Zion with bloodshed
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying,
“Is not the LORD among us?
No disaster can come upon us.”
Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
and the temple mount a wooded ridge.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 17:20-26

I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God, my soul proclaims your greatness.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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.

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God, my soul proclaims your greatness.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

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 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Grant, we beseech you, merciful Lord,
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 your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

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.