Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly 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

Angels, Wherever We Go, Attend

Charles Wesley

Angels, wherever we go, attend
Our steps, whatever betide,
With watchful care their charge defend,
And evil turn aside.

Myriads of bright cherubic bands,
Sent by the King of kings,
Rejoice to bear us in their hands,
And shade us with their wings.

Jehovah's charioteers surround;
The ministerial choir
Encamp wherever his heirs are found,
And form our wall of fire.

Ten thousand offices unseen
For us they gladly do,
Deliver in the furnace keen,
And safe escort us through.

But thronging round, with busiest love
They guard the dying breast,
The lurking fiend far off remove,
And sing our souls to rest.

And when our spirits we resign,
On outstretched wings they bear,
And lodge us in the arms of divine,
And leave us ever there.

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
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 committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
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.

Blessed be the LORD,
because he has heard the voice of our petitions.

Therefore our hearts greatly rejoice.
With our song we will thank him.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

Psalm 107

Refrain:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
Let the redeemed by the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
and gathered out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way.
They found no city to live in.
Hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
He led them also by a straight way,
that they might go to a city to live in.
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

For he satisfies the longing soul.
He fills the hungry soul with good.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron,
because they rebelled against the words of God,
and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
Therefore he brought down their heart with labour.
They fell down, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and broke away their chains.
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

For he has broken the gates of bronze,
and cut through bars of iron.

Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience,
and because of their iniquities.
Their soul abhors all kinds of food.
They draw near to the gates of death.
Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saves them out of their distresses.
He sends his word, and heals them,
and delivers them from their graves.
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare his deeds with singing.

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who do business in great waters,
these see the LORD’s deeds,
and his wonders in the deep.
For he commands, and raises the stormy wind,
which lifts up its waves.
They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths.
Their soul melts away because of trouble.
They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man,
and are at their wits’ end.
Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brings them out of their distress.
He makes the storm a calm,
so that its waves are still.
Then they are glad because it is calm,
so he brings them to their desired haven.
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!

Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the seat of the elders.

He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into a thirsty ground,
and a fruitful land into a salt waste,
for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
He turns a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into water springs.
There he makes the hungry live,
that they may prepare a city to live in,
sow fields, plant vineyards,
and reap the fruits of increase.
He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly.
He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
Again, they are diminished and bowed down
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
He pours contempt on princes,
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction,
and increases their families like a flock.
The upright will see it, and be glad.
All the wicked will shut their mouths.
Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things.
They will consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.

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:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.

Psalm prayer

O living Christ,
rescue us from foolish passion
and still the storms of our self-will;
and, as you are our anchor in this life,
so bring us to the haven you have prepared for us;
for your mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

1 Samuel 1:21-2:11

The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah didn’t go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and stay there forever.”

Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the LORD establish his word.”

So the woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him. When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, and one ephah of meal, and a container of wine, and brought him to the LORD’s house in Shiloh. The child was young. They killed the bull, and brought the child to Eli. She said, “Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore I have also given him to the LORD. As long as he lives he is given to the LORD.” He worshipped the LORD there.

Hannah prayed, and said,

“My heart exults in the LORD!
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is no one as holy as the LORD,
for there is no one besides you,
nor is there any rock like our God.

“Don’t keep talking so exceedingly proudly.
Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth,
for the LORD is a God of knowledge.
By him actions are weighed.

“The bows of the mighty men are broken.
Those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread.
Those who were hungry are satisfied.
Yes, the barren has borne seven.
She who has many children languishes.

“The LORD kills and makes alive.
He brings down to Sheol and brings up.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich.
He brings low, he also lifts up.
He raises up the poor out of the dust.
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill
to make them sit with princes
and inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s.
He has set the world on them.
He will keep the feet of his holy ones,
but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness;
for no man will prevail by strength.
Those who strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces.
He will thunder against them in the sky.

“The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served the LORD before Eli the priest.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 19:41-48

When [Jesus] came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side, and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”

He entered into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”

He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men amongst the people sought to destroy him. They couldn’t find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
Your mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear you.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring 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.

Refrain:
Your mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear you.

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.

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:

All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions

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

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
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

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.