Sunday evening October 31

Monday evening
Saturday evening

All Hallows’ Eve

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.

Lord, come quickly and help us.

All your faithful ones bless you.

They speak of the glory of your kingdom.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,

our light and our salvation,

to you be glory and praise forever.

Now, as darkness is falling,

wash away our transgressions,

cleanse us by your refining fire

and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.

By the light of Christ,

dispel the darkness of our hearts

and make us ready to enter your kingdom,

where songs of praise forever sound.

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

Help, Gracious Lord, My Deep Distress

Charles Wesley

Help, gracious Lord, my deep distress

To thee with anguish I reveal,

Who every sickness, and disease

Dost still among thy people heal.

O wouldst thou undertake for me,

Exert thy healing art divine!

My complicated malady

Mocks every other help but thine.

A secret, slow, internal fire

Consumes my soul with lingering pains,

The restless fever of desire

Throughout my fallen nature reigns.

Jesus, this eagerness of praise,

This raging thirst of creature-good,

Allay with thy refreshing grace,

Extinguish with thy balmy blood.

See the poor patient at thy feet,

And now the gracious wonder show:

I long thy healing touch to meet,

I gasp thy pardoning love to know.

Now, Savior, now the fever chide,

The virtue of thy name exert,

The fierceness of desire and pride

Rebuke, and bid my sin depart.

Soon as thy hand the balm applies,

My dying soul from sin set free

With instantaneous health shall rise,

And gladly serve thy saints and thee;

The servant of thy church below,

With all who know their sins forgiven,

Pardoned I in thy peace shall go,

And walk, and run, and fly to heaven.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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

Almighty God,

patient and of great goodness:

I confess to you,

I confess with my whole heart

my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,

my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;

the hurts I have done to others,

and the good I have left undone.

O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;

and raise me to newness of life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the God of love and power

forgive us and free us from our sins,

heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,

and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 145

Refrain:

The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!

I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.

I will bless your name forever and always.

I will bless you every day.

I will praise your name forever and always.

The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!

God’s greatness can’t be grasped.

One generation will praise your works to the next one,

proclaiming your mighty acts.

They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;

I will contemplate your wondrous works.

They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;

I will declare your great accomplishments.

They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;

they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:

“The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

very patient, and full of faithful love.

The Lord is good to everyone and everything;

God’s compassion extends, to all his handiwork!”

All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord;

all your faithful ones bless you!

They speak of the glory of your kingdom;

they talk all about your power,

to inform all human beings about God’s power

and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.

Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;

your rule endures for all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all that he says,

faithful in all that he does.

The Lord supports all who fall down,

straightens up all who are bent low.

All eyes look to you, hoping,

and you give them their food right on time,

opening your hand

and satisfying the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways,

faithful in all his deeds.

The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,

to all who call out to him sincerely.

God shows favor to those who honor him,

listening to their cries for help and saving them.

The Lord protects all who love him,

but he destroys every wicked person.

My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,

and every living thing will bless God’s holy name

forever and always.

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.

Refrain:

The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!

Psalm prayer

King of the universe,

you show the bright glory of your reign

in acts of mercy and enduring love;

raise the spirits of the downcast

and restore those who have fallen away,

that we may sing forever of your love;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Daniel 2:1-48

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, he had many dreams. The dreams made him anxious, but he kept sleeping. The king summoned the dream interpreters, enchanters, diviners, and Chaldeans to explain his dreams to him. They came and stood before the king.

Then the king said to them: “I had a dream, and I’m anxious to know its meaning.”

The Chaldeans answered the king in Aramaic: “Long live the king! Tell your servants the dream, and we will explain its meaning.”

The king answered the Chaldeans: “My decision is final: If you can’t tell me the dream and its meaning, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into trash dumps. But if you do explain the dream and its meaning, you’ll receive generous gifts and glorious honor from me. So explain to me the dream as well as its meaning.”

They answered him again: “The king must tell his servants the dream. We will then explain the meaning.”

The king replied: “Now I definitely know you are stalling for time, because you see that my decision is final and that if you can’t tell me the dream, your fate is certain. You’ve conspired to make false and lying speeches before me until the situation changes. Tell me the dream now! Then I’ll know you can explain its meaning to me.”

The Chaldeans answered the king: “No one on earth can do what the king is asking! No king or ruler, no matter how great, has ever asked such a thing of any dream interpreter, enchanter, or Chaldean. What the king is asking is impossible! No one could declare the dream to the king but the gods, who don’t live among mere humans.”

At this, the king exploded in a furious rage and ordered that all Babylon’s sages be wiped out. So the command went out: The sages were to be killed. Daniel and his friends too were hunted down; they were to be killed as well.

Then Daniel, with wisdom and sound judgment, responded to Arioch the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to kill Babylon’s sages. He said to Arioch the king’s royal officer, “Why is the king’s command so unreasonable?” After Arioch explained the situation to Daniel, Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so he could explain the dream’s meaning to him. Then Daniel went to his house and explained the situation to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah so that they would ask the God of heaven for help about this mystery, in hopes that Daniel and his friends wouldn’t die with the rest of Babylon’s sages. Then, in a vision by night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel! Daniel praised the God of heaven:

God’s name be praised

from age to eternal age!

Wisdom and might are his!

God is the one who changes times and eras,

who dethrones one king, only to establish another,

who grants wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with insight.

God is the one who uncovers what lies deeply hidden;

he knows what hides in darkness;

light lives with him!

I acknowledge and praise you, my fathers’ God!

You’ve given me wisdom and might,

and now you’ve made known to me what we asked of you:

you’ve made known to us the king’s demand.

So Daniel went to Arioch, the man the king had appointed to wipe out Babylon’s sages. Daniel said to him, “Don’t wipe out the sages of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will explain the dream’s meaning to him.” Wasting no time, Arioch brought Daniel before the king, telling him, “I have found someone from the Judean exiles who will tell the dream’s meaning to the king.”

In reply the king said to Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar), “Can you really tell me the dream that I saw, as well as its meaning?”

Daniel answered the king, “Sages, enchanters, dream interpreters, and diviners can’t explain to the king the mystery he seeks. But there is a God in heaven, a revealer of mysteries, who has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the days to come! Now this was your dream—this was the vision in your head as you lay in your bed:

“As you lay in bed, Your Majesty, your thoughts turned to what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has revealed to you what will happen. Now this mystery was revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than any other living person but so that the dream’s meaning might be made known to the king, and so that you might know the thoughts of your own mind.

“Your Majesty, you were looking, and there, rising before you, was a single, massive statue. This statue was huge, shining with dazzling light, and was awesome to see. The statue’s head was made of pure gold; its chest and arms were made from silver; its abdomen and hips were made of bronze. Its legs were of iron, and its feet were a mixture of iron and clay. You observed this until a stone was cut, but not by hands; and it smashed the statue’s feet of iron and clay and shattered them. Then all the parts shattered simultaneously—iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. They became like chaff, left on summer threshing floors. The wind lifted them away until no trace of them remained. But the stone that smashed the statue became a mighty mountain, and it filled the entire earth.

“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its meaning: You, Your Majesty, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given kingship, power, might, and glory to you! God has delivered into your care human beings, wild creatures, and birds in the sky—wherever they live—and has made you ruler of all of them. You are the gold head. But in your place, another kingdom will arise, one inferior to yours, and then a third, bronze kingdom will rule over all the earth. Then will come a fourth kingdom, mighty like iron. Just as iron shatters and crushes everything; so like an iron that smashes, it will shatter and crush all these others. As for the feet and toes that you saw, which were a mixture of potter’s clay and iron, that signifies a divided kingdom; but it will possess some of the unyielding strength of iron. Even so, you saw the iron mixed with earthy clay so that the toes were made from a mixture of iron and clay. Part of the kingdom will be mighty, but part of it will be fragile. Just as you saw the iron mixed with earthy clay, they will join together by intermarrying, but they will not bond to each other, just as iron does not fuse with clay.

“But in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will be indestructible. Its rule will never pass to another people. It will shatter other kingdoms. It will put an end to all of them. It will stand firm forever, just like you saw when the stone, which was cut from the mountain, but not by hands, shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. A great God has revealed to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain. Its meaning can be trusted.”

Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed low and honored Daniel. The king ordered that grain and incense offerings be made to Daniel. The king declared to Daniel, “No doubt about it: your God is God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries because you were able to reveal this mystery!” Then the king exalted Daniel and lavished gifts on him, making him ruler over all the province of Babylon and chief minister over all Babylon’s sages.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Revelation 7:9-17

After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands. They cried out with a loud voice:

“Victory belongs to our God

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

All the angels stood in a circle around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, saying,

“Amen! Blessing and glory

and wisdom and thanksgiving

and honor and power and might

be to our God forever and always. Amen.”

Then one of the elders said to me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

Then he said to me, “These people have come out of great hardship. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. This is the reason they are before God’s throne. They worship him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. They won’t hunger or thirst anymore. No sun or scorching heat will beat down on them, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!

In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.

He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.

Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored

because the mighty one has done great things for me.

Holy is his name.

He shows mercy to everyone,

from one generation to the next,

who honors him as God.

He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.

He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones

and lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away empty-handed.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,

remembering his mercy,

just as he promised to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

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.

Refrain:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.

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,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

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,

is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and 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.

Prayers

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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven

All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God

All who fear the winter months

All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ

All who grieve or wait with the dying

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

Response

Loving God, we look to you.

Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and eternal God,

you have kindled the flame of love

in the hearts of the saints:

grant to us the same faith and power of love,

that, as we rejoice in their triumphs,

we may be sustained by their example and fellowship;

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 in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and forever.

Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.

Amen.