Gathering Hymn 611 Tune Bunessan

The Greeting

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord be with you!

And also with you.

The Collect for purity

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden;
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Call to Penitence

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins, to intercede for us in heaven, and to bring us to eternal life.

Let us then confess our sins in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace.

Penitential Kyries

Father, you come to meet us when we return to you. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins. Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit, you give us life and peace. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Absolution

Almighty God,

who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy on you,

pardon and deliver you from all your sins,

confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,

and keep you in eternal life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to God’s people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,

almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks,

we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world:

have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father,

receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High,

Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect

Almighty God,

whose only Son has opened for us

a new and living way into your presence:

Give us pure hearts and steadfast wills

to worship you in spirit and in truth,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Proclaiming and Receiving the Word

A reading from the Song of Solomon.                                                                                            Springtime rhapsody

The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;

for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.                                         Song of Solomon 2: 8-13

Psalm, Eructavit cor meum (45.1-2, 6-9) Chant, Robinson in D (236)

1  My heart is astir with gracious words; •
   as I make my song for the king,
      my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2  You are the fairest of men; •
   full of grace are your lips,
      for God has blest you for ever.
6  Your throne is God’s throne, for ever; •
   the sceptre of your kingdom is the sceptre of righteousness.
7  You love righteousness and hate iniquity; •
   therefore God, your God, has anointed you
      with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
8  All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; •
   from ivory palaces the music of strings makes you glad.
9  Kings’ daughters are among your honourable women; •
   at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen.

A reading from the Epistle of St James.   Hearing and doing the word

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.                                                         James 1: 17-27

The Gradual Hymn 566 Tune Duke Street

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to St Mark.       The tradition of the elders

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“This people honours me with their lips,

   but their hearts are far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.                     Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon ~ The 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 Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

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 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 and the Son,

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.

Prayers of Intercession

Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Merciful Father,

accept these our prayers

for the sake of your Son,

our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Peace (please stand)

Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross.

We meet in his name and share his peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you!

And also with you.

The Offertory Hymn (and collection) 384 St Cyprian

The Taking of the Bread and Wine

Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.

therefore let us celebrate the feast.

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 our thanks and praise.

Father, almighty and everliving God, at all times and in all places it is right to give you thanks and praise; and so with all your people, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying;

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, Father, the creator and sustainer of all things; you made us in your own image; male and female you created us; even when we turned away from you, you never ceased to care for us, but in your love and mercy you freed us from the slavery of sin, giving your only begotten Son to become man and suffer death on the cross to redeem us; he made there the one complete and all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world: he instituted and in his holy Gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death until he comes again.

On the night that he was betrayed he took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper he took the cup;  and when he had given thanks to you, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

Therefore, Father, with this bread and this cup

we do as Christ your Son commanded:

we remember his passion and death,

we celebrate his resurrection and ascension,

and we look for the coming of his kingdom.

Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; and as we eat and drink these holy gifts, grant by the power of the life-giving Spirit that we may be made one in your holy Church and partakers of the body and blood of your Son, that he may dwell in us and we in him;

Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,

by whom, and with whom, and in whom,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all honour and glory are yours,

Almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (sit or kneel to pray)

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.

The Breaking of the Bread

The bread which we break

is a sharing in the body of Christ.

We being many are one body,

for we all share in the one bread.

Agnus Dei

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,

have mercy on us;
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,

have mercy on us;
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,

grant us peace.

The Invitation

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God,

who has taken away the sins of the world.

Happy are those who are called to his supper.

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,

but only say the word and I shall be healed.

(St Audoen’s only)

The bread and the wine are laid out where people can approach

and receive them independently.

Many people like to dip the wafer in the wine.

The Post Communion Prayer

Lord God,

the source of truth and love:

Keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,

united in prayer and the breaking of bread,

and one in joy and simplicity of heart,

in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Almighty God,

we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food

of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ.

Through him we offer you our souls and bodies

to be a living sacrifice.

Send us out in the power of your Spirit

to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.

The Blessing

The peace of God, which passes all understanding,

keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,

and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be with you and remain with you always. Amen.

The Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!

In the name of Christ. Amen.

Thanksgiving Hymn 3 Tune, Abbot’s Leigh