Choral Eucharist on 30th March will be livestreamed and available online at Holy Trinity’s YouTube site from 10.55am on Sunday at https://www.youtube.com/live/gMaplZ9S7Ac
PRELUDE: Lied (24 Pièces) (Vierne)
WELCOME
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
OPENING HYMN
1. THERE's a wideness in God's mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
2. There is no place where earth's sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth's failings
Have such kindly judgement given.
3. For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
7. If our love were but more simple,
We should take him at his word;
And our lives would be all gladness
In the joy of Christ our Lord.
APPROACH TO GOD
Call to remembrance your compassion and mercy, O Lord;
your loving kindness, which you gave us of old.
To you O Lord I lift up my soul;
my God I trust in you; do not let me be confounded.
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Be strong and do not fear;
for God is our refuge and strength.
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sin, to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
So let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Silence
Almighty and merciful God,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the desires of our own hearts.
We have left undone what we ought to have done;
we have done what we ought not to have done.
We are in need of health and restoration.
But you, O Lord, are merciful to sinners.
Restore us, and grant that we may live in peace and love
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
KYRIE
THE ABSOLUTION
May God, who is the strength of love,
through the gift of Christ his son,
heal and strengthen us by his spirit,
that, being crucified with Christ in his death,
we may rise with him to new life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
COLLECTS:
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING (Joshua 5:9-12)
A reading from the book of Joshua
The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.’ And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.
While the Israelites were encamped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
ends with:
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL HYMN
1. Jesus, good above all other,
Gentle Child of gentle Mother,
In a stable born our Brother,
Give us grace to persevere.
3. Jesus, for thy people dying,
Risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
Keep us to thy presence near.
4. Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
All our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
Thou to men the truth declarest;
Help us all thy truth to hear.
5. Lord, in all our doings guide us;
Pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
We'll go on with thee beside us,
And with joy we'll persevere!
GOSPEL (Luke 15:1-3,11b-32)
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
When the Gospel is announced:
Glory to Christ our Saviour.
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
So he told them this parable:
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
At the end:
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
ANTHEM Anthem after Sermon: Je vous salue, Marie, comblée de grâce
(Fr. Jean-Batiste de la Sainte Familie)
I greet you Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed art thou
among women, and Jesus, the fruit of your womb, is blessed.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners, now and at the
hour of our death. Amen. Alleluia.
NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
INTERCESSIONS
PEACE
Christ is our peace.
He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross.
We meet in Christ’s name.
Let us share his peace.
OFFERTORY HYMN
Sing we of the blessèd Mother
who received the angel's word,
and obedient to his summons
bore in love the infant Lord;
sing we of the joys of Mary
at whose breast that child was fed
who is Son of God eternal
and the everlasting Bread.
Sing we, too, of Mary's sorrows,
of the sword that pierced her through,
when beneath the cross of Jesus
she his weight of suffering knew,
looked upon her Son and Saviour
reigning high on Calvary's tree,
saw the price of man's redemption
paid to set the sinner free.
Sing again the joys of Mary
when she saw the risen Lord,
and in prayer with Christ's apostles,
waited on his promised word:
from on high the blazing glory
of the Spirit's presence came,
heavenly breath of God's own being,
manifest through wind and flame.
Sing the chiefest joy of Mary
when on earth her work was done,
and the Lord of all creation
brought her to his heavenly home:
Virgin Mother, Mary blessèd,
raised on high and crowned with grace,
may your Son, the world's redeemer,
grant us all to see his face.
PRAYERS OF OFFERING
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies,
it remains alone.
But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Almighty God, as these gifts of bread and wine
were once scattered over the hills as wheat and grape,
but gathered together became one mass,
so let your people, scattered and divided by sin,
be one in your eternal Kingdom.
Blessed be God for ever.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Worship and praise belong to you,
maker of light and darkness.
Your wisdom draws beauty from chaos,
brings a harvest out of sorrow
and leads the exiles home.
In Christ your Son enemies are reconciled,
debts forgiven
and strangers made welcome.
Your Spirit frees us
to live as sons and daughters
in our Father's house.
We who by Christ's power follow the way of the Cross,
sharing the joy of his obedience,
now offer you our praise,
with angels and archangels
and the whole company of heaven
singing the hymn of your unending glory:
SANCTCUS
Glory and thanksgiving be to you, most loving Father,
for Christ in whom the world is reconciled.
Lifted on the Cross,
his suffering and forgiveness
spanned the gulf our sins had made.
Through that dark struggle
death was swallowed up in victory,
that life and light might reign.
Before he was given up to suffering and death,
recalling the night of Israel's release,
the night in which the sons of Egypt died,
your Chosen One, himself the First-Born,
freely offered his life.
At supper with his disciples he took bread
and offered you thanks.
He broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying:
“Take, eat. This is my Body: it is broken for you.”
After supper, he took the cup, he offered you thanks,
and gave it to them saying:
“Drink this, all of you.
This is my Blood of the new covenant;
it is poured out for you, and for all,
that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
We now obey your Son's command.
We recall his blessed passion and death,
his glorious resurrection and ascension;
and we look for the coming of his Kingdom.
Made one with him, we offer you these gifts
and with them ourselves,
a single, holy, living sacrifice.
Hear us, most merciful Father,
and send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and this wine,
that, overshadowed by your Spirit’s life-giving power,
they may be the Body and Blood of your Son,
and we may be kindled with the fire of your love
and renewed for the service of your Kingdom.
Help us, who are baptised into the
fellowship of Christ's Body
to live and work to your praise and glory;
may we grow together in unity and love
until at last, in your new creation,
we enter into our heritage
in the company of the Virgin Mary,
the apostles, and prophets,
and of all our brothers and sisters
living and departed.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be to you,
Lord of all ages,
world without end. Amen.
THE FRACTION
The living bread is broken for the life of the world.
Lord, unite us in this sign.
As our Saviour Christ has commanded and taught us,
we are bold to say;
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,
the power and the glory
For ever and ever. Amen.
INVITATION
We do not presume to come to this your holy table merciful God,
because we are strong,
but because we are weak.
Nor because we are good, but because we need mercy and help.
We come because we love you and seek to love you more.
We come because you love us, and Christ gave himself for us.
Holy things for holy people. Broken bread for broken people. Amen.
Post Communion hymn:
Sweet Sacrament divine,
Hid in thine earthly home,
Lo, round thy lowly shrine,
With suppliant hearts we come;
Jesu, to thee our voice we raise
In songs of love and heartfelt praise:
Sweet Sacrament divine.
Sweet Sacrament of peace,
Dear home for every heart,
Where restless yearnings cease
And sorrows all depart;
There in thine ear all trustfully
We tell our tale of misery:
Sweet Sacrament of peace.
Sweet Sacrament of rest,
Ark from the ocean's roar,
Within thy shelter blest
Soon may we reach the shore;
Save us, for still the tempest raves,
Save, lest we sink beneath the waves:
Sweet Sacrament of rest.
Sweet Sacrament divine,
Earth's light and jubilee,
In thy far depths doth shine
Thy Godhead's majesty;
Sweet light, so shine on us, we pray
That earthly joys may fade away:
Sweet Sacrament divine.
THANKSGIVING AND SENDING OUT
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious.
And his mercy endures for ever.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
Almighty God, by the cross and passion of your Son, Jesus Christ,
you saved and redeemed your people.
May we, who have shared this day in holy things,
find within ourselves the grace
to take up our cross and follow him.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
BLESSING:
Now may Christ give us grace to grow in holiness,
deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you, and those for whom you pray,
now and Always. Amen.
DISMISSAL
Let us go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.
In the Name of Christ. Amen.
FINAL HYMN :
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name, the Lord, the mighty one.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.
Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children's children and for evermore!
ORGAN VOLUNTARY: Improvisation on 'Woodlands'