Service for Sunday 2nd Before Lent – 3 February 2024
Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here
for the first time or visiting Athens. After the Liturgy we all gather in the church garden for coffee and refreshments.
Presiding Priest: Fr. Bjorn Kling
Deacon: Revd. Deacon Christine Saccali
Preacher: Licensed Reader Nelly Paraskevopoulou
Entrance Hymn: Introit: 349 (Nativity) Come, let us join our cheerful songs
Priest: Blessed be the kingdom of God
All: Now and for ever
Priest: The Lord be with you
All: And also with you
The priest then informally welcomes the people of God and leads us into Confession.
(A short period of stillness and silence)
All: Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.
Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria: Glory to God in the highest, peace to his people on earth. Glory to God in the highest, peace to his 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 aways the sin of the world, have mercy on us, 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. In the glory of God the Father. AMEN
Collect: Let us pray (remain standing as the priest prays the Collect of the Day)
Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things,
now and for ever
Amen.
First Reading (please sit) Proverbs 8. 1, 22-31
Does not wisdom call
and understanding raise her voice?
The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
when he had not yet made earth and fields
or the world’s first bits of soil.
When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master worker,
and I was daily his delight,
playing before him always,
playing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Congregational Psalm: 441 (Mendip) Pray that Jerusalem may have (Psalm 122)
Second Reading Colossians 1. 15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God
Gradual: 370 (Falcon Street) Help us, O Lord, to learn
Gospel Reading (all turn towards the gospel book)
Assistant: Alleluia! Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. You have the words of eternal life.
All (sung): Alleluia
Assistant: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Assistant: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John (1. 1-14)
All: Glory to you, O Lord
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
At end of the gospel
Deacon: This is the gospel of the Lord
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (Please sit) Nelly Paraskevopoulou
Creed (Please stand)
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 from the Holy Spirit and 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 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: (kneel or sit) Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Priest: The kingdom of God is a kingdom of justice, love and peace. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Offertory Hymn: Offertory: 466 (Moscow) Thou whose almighty word (During this hymn the collection will be taken)
Bread and wine, the offering of the people of God, are presented .
Priest: Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty; for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
All: All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.
The Great Thanksgiving Prayer
(please remain standing for this if you are able)
Priest: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Priest: Lift up your hearts
All: We lift them to the Lord
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
All: It is right to give thanks and praise
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord God, our light and our salvation; to you be glory and praise for ever! From the beginning you have created all things and all your works echo the silent music of your praise. In the fullness of time you made us in your image, the crown of all creation. You give us breath and speech that with angels and archangels and all the powers of heaven we may find a voice to sing your praise:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heav’n 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.
Priest: How wonderful the work of your hands, O Lord! As a mother tenderly gathers her children you embraced a people as your own. When they turned away and rebelled
your love remained steadfast. From them you raised up Jesus our Saviour, born of Mary,
to be the living bread, in whom all our hungers are satisfied. He offered his life for sinners
and with a love stronger than death he opened wide his arms on the cross. On the night before he died, he came to supper with his friends, and taking bread, he gave you thanks.
He broke it and gave it to them, saying: Take, eat: this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me. At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said: Drink this, all of you; 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.
Deacon: Great is the mystery of faith
All: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Priest: Father, we plead with confidence his sacrifice made once for all on the cross: we remember his dying and rising in glory, and we rejoice that he prays for us at your right hand. Pour out your Holy Spirit as we bring before you these gifts of your creation; may they be for us the body and blood of your dear Son. As we eat and drink these holy things in your presence, form us in the likeness of Christ, and build us into a living temple to your glory. Remember Lord your Church in every land. Reveal her unity, guard her faith, and preserve her in peace with our Bishop Robert and all the congregations of this diocese; bring us all at the last with the Holy Mother of God, Paul, and all the saints to the vision of that eternal splendor for which you have created us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom, with all who stand before you earth and heaven, we worship you in songs of everlasting praise;
All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever. Amen.
Please kneel or sit as we pray together:
The Lord’s Prayer: (in whichever language you choose)
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.
Priest: We break this bread to share in the body of the risen Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
Sung: Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us. Jesus bearer of our sins, have mercy on us. Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us peace.
Invitation to Communion
Draw near with faith. Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gave for you and his blood which he shed for you. Eat and drink in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts in faith with thanksgiving.
All baptized Christians may come forward to receive the body and blood of Christ. If you wish you may receive a blessing
Communion Hymn: 295 (Picardy) Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Post Communion Prayer: Let us pray (please stand)
Priest: God our creator,
by your gift
the tree of life was set at the heart of the earthly paradise,
and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:
may we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All. We thank you, Lord, that you have fed us in this sacrament, united us with Christ, and given us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for all peoples. Amen.
Notices: see below
Post Communion Hymn: 360 (Shipston) Firmly I believe and truly
Blessing and Dismissal
Priest: 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 now and always. Amen.
Deacon: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
All: In the name of Christ. Amen.
Deacon Chris: 22950 53164: Day off- Fridays.
Swedish Church: contact Fr. Bjorn on 694 607 2428
The Anglican Church in Greece (including St. Paul’s) is self- financing, and receives no income other than from the generosity of those who worship here. We are a legal body and we pay tax. Our tax number is 997073090. If you wish to donate direct to our bank (IBAN) the account with Piraeus Bank is: The Anglican Church in Greece, St. Paul’s Athens GR 820172 0500 0050 5008 6327 479 Swift code is PIRB GRAA. Please use our monthly envelope scheme if you can.
Notices:
Fr. Marcus Ronchetti will be holding a Lent course Tuesdays at 7.30.at the Clergy apartment ‘Lost in Wonder, Love and Praise’. We will be Exploring our prayer life as busy people in a mad world. Starting on February 20th for 5 weeks. Please write your name on the list at the back of the church if you want to attend
- Palm Crosses – please return any Palm Crosses from 2023. These are burned to make the Ash for the Ash Wednesday Liturgy this year.
- Ash Wednesday – Wed 14th Liturgy at 10.00am
- Electoral Roll Forms are available – if you are regularly at St. Paul’s please complete one of these and hand it in, preferably a couple of weeks before the Annual Meeting.
- Monthly Giving envelopes – it is never too late to join this scheme. Just ask about it.
- Coffee morning on Thursday February 8th at the Swedish Center 10.30-12.30 pls contact Anne Dedes for information
- Quiz Nights – these are monthly. Listen out for the dates!
- Weekly Prayer Tuesday 09.00 on-line. Check the website for the details.
- A POS is available so you can make your Sunday donation by card
See our e-mag on the website.
https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanAthens/
@AthensAnglican
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