Service Sheet for Sunday 19th September 2026 – Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Celebrant Fr Benjamin Drury

Sung Mass for the twenty-fifth Sunday in ordinary time
Processional: 436 (Praise, My Soul) Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
Resp. Psalm: Ps. 145
Gradual: 402 (St. Mary) Lord, it belongs not to my care
Offertory: 465 (Margaret) Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly home
Communion: 331 (Eventide) Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
Recessional: 413 (Nun Danket) Now thank we all our God
All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.
The Mass setting is Sir James Macmillan’s ‘St. Anne’s Mass’

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (55: 6-9)
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 145:

The Lord is close to all who call him
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured. (Response)

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. (Response)

The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts. (Response)

A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians (1:20-24, 27)
Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my
death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring
me something more; but then again, if living in this body means
doing work which is having good results – I do not know what I
should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and
be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to
stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake.
Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of
the gospel of Christ.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! Blessings on the King who
comes, in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the
highest heavens! Alleluia!
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (20: 1-16)
Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a land-
owner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and
sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go
to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out
and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have
you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In
the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals
and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When
the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The
men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy
day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?

Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own?
Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
The Gospel of the Lord: praise to you, O Christ.

 

O Lord, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend
thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy
succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Collect: Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity)
Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments
Wednesday 23rd September: 10 a.m.; Low Mass
Sunday 27th September: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass
For the diary: harvest festival at the Kokotos estate (Sunday, 25th
October). Please speak to churchwardens Oliver Knight or Lynn
Stavrou about reserving a place on the coach.
The Friends of St. Paul’s: please speak to Dimitris Ramantanoglou,
or Father Benjamin, about becoming a Friend of the church.
Pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin.
Short prayer booklets (Prime and Compline) are available, please
speak to Oliver Knight

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code;
the Church does not receive any funding from the  
Church of England or the British Government and is
reliant on the goodwill of congregants and visitors.
We thank you for your support.
Senior Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury SSC
frbenjamindrury@gmail.com; Home tel.: 210 72 14 906
Assistant Chaplain: Deacon Christine Saccali: 697 737 7655
Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling: 694 6072428
Facebook @AnglicanAthens www.anglicanchurchathens.gr
saintpaulsathens.bsky.social anglican@otenet.gr