Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At choral Evensong most of the service is sung by the choir on our behalf. We participate through our presence and our listening, that the words and the music might become a prayer within us and lift us to contemplate God's beauty and glory.

The service always includes one or more psalms. These ancient prayers, taken from the Old Testament, reflect the full range of human emotions and experiences; from the depths of anger, resentment, and abandonment to the heights of ecstatic joy and praise. They were used by Jesus, and have always been at the heart of the Church's daily prayer.

The canticles Magnificat (Luke 1: 46–55) and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2: 29–32) reflect two responses to the Incarnation (God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ). Both speak of the fulfilment of God's promises, not just to 'Abraham and his seed', but also 'to be a light to lighten the Gentiles' (all nations). With their themes of fulfilment and completion, these texts have been given central place for many centuries in the Church's prayers for the evening and at the end of the day.

Please join in saying the words and singing the hymn printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

During the Abbey Choir's vacation we welcome visiting choirs from the United Kingdom and beyond to lead the music at our services. Today's service is sung by the Choir of Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between USPG and the work of the Abbey. USPG is an Anglican mission agency that partners with churches worldwide in God's mission to enliven faith, strengthen relationships, unlock potential, and champion justice.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

All remain standing as the officiant introduces the Confession

Beloved, we are come together in the presence of Almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and show forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all people such things as their well-being doth require. Wherefore let us sit or kneel and keep silence, and remember God's presence with us now.

All kneel or sit to say together

O God, our Father,
we have sinned against thee
in thought, word, and deed;
we have not loved thee with all our heart;
we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.
Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee;
cleanse us from our sins;
and help us to overcome our faults;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

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.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: Philip Radcliffe (1905–86)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 63

O God, thou art my God : early will I seek thee.
My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee : in a barren and dry land where no water is.
Thus have I looked for thee in holiness : that I might behold thy power and glory.
For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself : my lips shall praise thee.
As long as I live will I magnify thee on this manner : and lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness : when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
Have I not remembered thee in my bed : and thought upon thee when I was waking?
Because thou hast been my helper : therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul hangeth upon thee : thy right hand hath upholden me.
These also that seek the hurt of my soul : they shall go under the earth.
Let them fall upon the edge of the sword : that they may be a portion for foxes.
But the King shall rejoice in God; all they also that swear by him shall be commended : for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

All stand

Chant: John Lemon (1754–1814)

All sit for the first Lesson, Zephaniah 3: 14–end

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
   shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
   O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,
   he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
   you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
   do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
   a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
   he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
   as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
   so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all your oppressors
   at that time.
And I will save the lame
   and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
   and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,
   at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
   among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
   before your eyes, says the Lord.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Canticles in A, Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)

All sit for the second Lesson, Mark 15: 40—16: 7

There were women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Canticles in A, Herbert Sumsion

All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

Almighty God, whose Son restored Saint Mary Magdalene to health of mind and body and called her to be a witness to his resurrection: forgive us our sins, we beseech thee, and heal us by thy grace, that we may serve thee in the power of his risen life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Music: Philip Radcliffe

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Magdalen, cease from sobs and sighs;
Wipe the teardrops from off thine eyes:
Simon the leper's feast is o'er;
Christ today needs thy nard no more.
Now thousand times mays't thou rejoice;
Now thousand times uplift thy voice.
   Alleluia!

Magdalen, bind up on thee now
Garland of gladness o'er thy brow:
Banish'd afar is grief and pain:
Welcome is sunshine after rain.
For Jesu Christ the world hath freed,
Triumphing over Death indeed.
   Alleluia!

Words: 'Pone luctum Magdalena' anonymous, translated by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934)
Music: 'Nicht ruhen Magdalena kundt' Köln, 1623, arranged by Peter Hurford (1930–2019)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the Members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All say

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.

All stand to sing the Hymn

Mary, weep not, weep no longer,
   now thy heart hath gained its goal;
here, in truth, the Gardener standeth,
   but the Gardener of thy soul,
who within thy spirit's garden
   by his love hath made thee whole.

Now from grief and lamentation
   lift thy drooping heart with cheer;
while for love of him thou mournest,
   lo, thy Lord regained is here!
Fainting for him, thou hast found him;
   all unknown, behold him near!

Nay, no wonder if she knows not
   till the Sower's seed be sown,
till from him, the Word eternal,
   light within her heart is thrown.
Now he calls her, and 'Rabboni,'
   she in turn her Lord doth own.

Faith that washed the feet of Jesus,
   fed with dew the Fount of Grace,
win for us a like compassion,
   that, with all the ransomed race,
at the glory of his rising
   we may see him face to face.

Glory be to God and honour,
   who, preferring sacrifice,
far above the rich man's bounty,
   sweetness found in Mary's sighs,
who for all, his love foretasting,
   spreads the banquet of the skies.
      Amen.

Words: 'O Maria noli flere' 13th century, translated by Laurence Housman (1865–1959)
Tune: 'Picardy' 295 NEH, traditional French carol

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary