Celtic Evening Prayers Sunday, May 2, 2021 Online 5:30 pm
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Celtic Evening Prayers Sunday, May 2, 2021 Online 5:30 pm
Prelude Jiji Park, piano
Good evening and welcome to Epiphany Episcopal Church. Tonight’s Celtic service combines sacred
music, prayer, reflection, and meditative silence. It follows the structure of traditional evening prayer,
while also focusing on simplicity of expression, healing, and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Officiant: Light and peace, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Officiant Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.
All: His mercy endures forever.
Opening Scripture
Officiant: I will bless the Lord who giveth me counsel; my heart teacheth me, night
after night. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right
hand, I shall not fall. Psalm 16:7,8
1
Officiant: Please join our choir as they sing our Opening Hymn.
Opening Hymn Seek Ye First Hymnal 711
Words: St. 1, Matthew 6:33; adapt. Karen Lafferty (20th cent.). St. 2, Matthew 7:7
Music: Seek Ye First, Karen Lafferty (20th cent.)
A time of contemplative silence is kept.
2Prayer for Light
Officiant: Let us pray.
Almighty and most merciful God, kindle within us the fire of love, that by its cleansing
flame we may be purged of all our sins and made worthy to worship you in spirit and
in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Candle Lighting
Please join in lighting three candles together.
Officiant: We light a light in the name of the Maker,
who lit the world and breathed the breath of life for us.
All: We wait for the Lord. Our souls wait, and in His word do we hope.
Officiant: We light a light in the name of the Son,
who saved the world and stretched out his hand to us.
All: We wait for the Lord. Our souls wait, and in His word do we hope.
Officiant: We light a light in the name of the Spirit,
who encompassed the world and blessed our souls with yearning.
All: We wait for the Lord. Our souls wait, and in His word do we hope.
We light three lights for the Trinity of Love:
God above us, God beside us, God beneath us;
The beginning, The End, The everlasting one.
Officiant: Please join in reading O Gracious Light (Phos Hilaron).
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
3Officiant: Please join me in reading the following contemplative prayer.
(Adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book by He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa)
Officiant: Let us pray.
People and Officiant
Lord, it is evening.
The world prepares for the stillness of night.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is evening after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
The darkness of night is coming.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.
The quiet of nighttime is coming.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
After the night will come the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
Silence may be kept.
4Officiant: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
The Gospel Matthew 7:7-14
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be
opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds,
and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you
who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will
give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and
the prophets.
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to
destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard
that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Officiant: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Reflection Laurel Musson
Contemplative silence is kept during the meditative musical offering.
Meditative Music Heitor Presser, guitar
5Officiant: Let us join in reading the Apostles’ Creed
The Apostles’ Creed
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 power of 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.
The Lord’s Prayer
Officiant: And now, as our Savior Jesus Christ has taught us, we are bold to pray:
All: 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.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
6Suffrages
Officiant: Show us your mercy, O Lord;
All: And grant us your salvation.
Officiant: Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
All: Let your people sing with joy.
Officiant: Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
All: For only in you can we live in safety.
Officiant: Lord, keep this nation under your care;
All: And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Officiant: Let your way be known upon earth;
All: Your saving health among all nations.
Officiant: Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
All: Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Officiant: Create in us clean hearts, O God;
All: And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Prayers for Ourselves and Others
Leader: Let us pray for ourselves and others.
Leader: Loving God, because we are better together, even as we are apart,
enliven the Church to do your work.
All: That we may take up our cross and follow you, Lord God.
Leader: Breathe fresh life into your people.
All: Give us courage to reveal you, Christ, in word and action.
Leader: Creator of all, lead us and every people in the ways of justice and peace.
All: That we may respect one another in freedom and truth.
Leader: Embolden in us a sense of wonder for the earth and all that is in it.
All: Teach us to care creatively for our fragile world.
Leader: God of truth, inspire with your wisdom those whose decisions affect
the lives of others.
All: That all may act with integrity and courage.
Leader: Be among us, to bring light in the darkness.
All: Forgive us our wrongs. Those done and those left undone.
Leader: Give grace to all those whose lives are linked with ours.
7All: May we serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.
Leader: Let us now name before God those for whom we offer our personal
prayers, either silently or aloud.
All are invited to add their own intercessions either silently or aloud.
Officiant: We pray for those impacted by the Coronavirus:
All: God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart;
bring hope and courage to all who wait or work in uncertainty.
Bring hope that you will make them the equal
of whatever lies ahead.
Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
Restore wellness in body, mind, and spirit,
for you are God, and we need you.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
A time of contemplative silence is kept.
Officiant: Lord God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ triumphed over the powers of
death and prepared for us our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant that we, who have
this day given thanks for his resurrection, may praise you in that City of which he is
the light, and where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Officiant: And now we pray together,
All: Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work or watch or weep this night.
Give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ, give rest to the weary.
Bless the dying. Soothe the suffering. Pity the afflicted.
Shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
8Officiant: Please join in singing our Sending Hymn
Sending Hymn Alleluia, Alleluia, Hymnal 178
Give Thanks to the Risen Lord
9Words: Donald Fishel (b. 1950)
Music: Alleluia No. 1, Donald Fishel (b. 1950); arr. Betty Pulkingham (b. 1928), Charles Mallory (b. 1950) and George Mims (b. 1938)
General Thanksgiving
Officiant and People
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we thine unworthy servants
do give thee most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all men.
We bless thee for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for thine inestimable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies,
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful;
and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to thy service,
and by walking before thee
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost,
be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
10Concluding Scripture
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. 2 Corinthians 13:14
Blessing
Officiant: May God’s Blessing be with us,
Christ’s peace be with us,
the Spirit’s outpouring be with us,
now and always. Amen.
Postlude Jiji Park, piano
A special thank you to Art Buck for officiating tonight,
to Laurel Musson for this evening’s Reflection,
to Rebecca McLain for reading,
to Heitor Presser for his guitar music and
to Jiji Park, Cathy Lard and our Epiphany choir for their musical gifts.
The content of Celtic Worship is drawn from Frontier Services Sunday 2013, A Celtic Liturgy compiled by Pat
Robson; A Celtic Primer compiled by Brendan O’Malley; Wild Goose Worship Group, A Wee Worship Book.
Music Copyright Acknowledgements: All rights reserved. Except where otherwise noted, music in
today's bulletin that is not in the public domain is reprinted under One-License.net # A-723865 and
CCLI license #2895248.
Epiphany Episcopal Church is building a Christ-centered community,
growing in God’s grace, welcoming all in love, and providing for God’s world.
3301 Hidden Meadow Drive, Oak Hill, VA 20171 | www.epiphanyec.org | (703) 466-5200
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