Choral Eucharist on 20th April (Easter Day) will be livestreamed and available online at Holy Trinity’s YouTube site from 10.55am on Sunday at: https://www.youtube.com/live/_Uw1bqEV3h4

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WELCOME 
 
INTRODUCTION TO EASTER DAY 
Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy day, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in joyful prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death. 
 
MUSIC   The Exsultet will be sung as the choir process 

FIRST GOSPEL OF EASTER: Mark 16:1-4 
 
OPENING HYMN 
 
All people that on earth do dwell,                
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him, and rejoice.
 
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed,
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.
 
O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
 
For why? the Lord our God is good:
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
 
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the Angel-host
Be praise and glory evermore. Amen.
 
FIRST READING    (Acts 10:34-43)  

 

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

 

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’              

This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God 
 
GLORIA    
Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory: O Lord God, heavenly King; God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art the most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
 
HYMN 
 
Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia! 
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
 
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heav'nly King, Alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
now above the sky He's King, Alleluia!
where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
 
GOSPEL :    (John 20:1-18)  

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Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

Glory to Christ our Saviour

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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.  

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At the end:

Give thanks to the Lord for his Glorious Gospel 
Praise to Christ our Lord

ALLELUIA  followed by organ fanfare. 
 
SERMON   Rev’d Dr. Claire Nicholson 

PEACE 

We meet in Christ’s name
Let us share his peace
 
OFFERTORY HYMN 

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;
endless is the vict'ry  Thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes  where Thy body lay.
          Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;

          endless is the vict'ry  Thou o’er death hast won.
 
Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb.
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let His church with gladness  hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth;  death hath lost its sting.
          Thine be the glory...
 
No more we doubt Thee,  glorious Prince of life!!
Life is nought without Thee;  aid us in our strife;
make us more than conqu'rors,  through Thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan  to Thy home above.
          Thine be the glory...

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING 
 
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 him thanks and praise.
 
Worship and praise belong to you, 
author of all being. 
Your power sustains,
your love restores our broken world. 
You are unceasingly at work, from chaos,
bringing order 
and filling emptiness with life. 
Christ raised from the dead,
proclaims the dawn of hope. 
He lives in us that we may walk in light. 
 
Your Spirit is fire in us,
your breath is power to purge our sin 
and warm our hearts to love. 
As children of your redeeming purpose, 
freed by him who burst from the tomb
and opened the gate of life,
We offer you our praise, with angels and archangels 
And the whole company of heaven, 
singing the hymn of your unending glory. 
 
SANCTUS 
 
Holy, Holy Holy, Lord God of Hosts.

Heaven and Earth are full of Thy Glory.

Glory be to Thee, O Lord most High.

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord,

Hosanna in the Highest. 
 
CONSECRATION PRAYER 
 
Praise and thanksgiving be to you, Lord of all,  

for by the cross eternal life is ours

and death is swallowed up in victory. 
 
In the first light of Easter,

glory broke from the tomb  

and changed the women’s sorrow into joy.

From the garden the truth shone clear

that he whom they had loved and lost  

was with them now in every place, for ever. 
 
Making himself known in the breaking of the bread,  

speaking peace to his fearful disciples,

welcoming weary fishers on the shore,  

he renewed the promise of his presence,  

and of new birth in the Spirit

who sets the seal of freedom on your sons and daughters. 
 
On the night when he was given up to death,  
knowing that his hour had come, 
having loved his own, he loved them to the end. 
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 God,  

and send your Holy Spirit upon us

and upon this bread and this wine,  

that, overshadowed by his 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.
 
LORD’S PRAYER
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 kingdom, 
the power and the glory
For ever and ever. 
Amen.
 
AGNUS DEI
O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world;

have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world;

grant us Thy peace. 
 
INVITATION 
If you are thirsty, come drink the cup of life

If you are hungry, come eat the bread of life

Blessed are all who hunger for this bread and thirst for this cup.

Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast.
 
COMMUNION
 
HYMN

Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
 
In the grave they laid Him, Love who had been slain,
Thinking that He never would awake again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: 
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
 
Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
Jesus who for three days in the grave had lain;
Quick from the dead the risen One is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Jesus' touch can call us back to life again,
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: 
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
 
THANKSGIVING AND SENDING OUT 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious.
And his mercy endures for ever.
 
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER 
All-powerful God,
whose will is to restore all to life in you,  
grant that as you have come to us 
in these gifts of bread and wine, 
so you may come to others through us; 
that more and more,

the world may know

the power of him who is our Resurrection and our Life. Amen.
 
BLESSING 
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight;
and the blessing of God Almighty,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

be with you and remain with you always. 
Amen. 
 
DISMISSAL

Let us go in peace, to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen. 
 
 
FINAL HYMN 

How shall I Sing that Majesty  
Which Angels do Admire? 
Let Dust in Dust and Silence lie, 
Sing, Sing, ye Heavenly Quire. 
Thousands of Thousands stand around 
Thy Throne, O God, most High; 
Ten Thousand times Ten Thousand sound 
Thy Praise; but who am I?
 
Thy Brightness unto them appears,  
Whilst I thy Footsteps trace; 
A Sound of God comes to my Ears; 
But they behold thy Face. 
They Sing because thou art their Sun, 
Lord, send a Beam on me; 
For where Heav'n is but once begun, 
There Hallelujahs be.
 
Enlighten with Faith's Light my Heart,  
Inflame it with Love's Fire; 
Then shall I sing and bear a part  
With that Celestial Quire. 
I shall, I fear, be dark and cold, 
With all my Fire and Light: 
Yet when thou dost accept their Gold, 
Lord, Treasure up my Mite.
 
How great a Being, Lord, is thine,  
Which doth all Beings keep! 
Thy Knowledge is the only Line 
To sound so vast a Deep. 
Thou art a Sea without a Shore,  
A Sun without a Sphere; 
Thy Time is now and evermore; 
Thy Place is everywhere.
 
ORGAN VOLUNTARY