Ascension

Service for Pentecost Sunday 20th June 2021 at St Paul’s Church and on Zoom

Fr. Leonard will lead the worship and preach.

 

Priest:                In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All:                     Amen.  Alleluia!

 

1 Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing. 

 

2 O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming. 

 

3 And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

 

 

Assistant:         Jesus Christ, whom we worship, is our crucified, risen and ascended Lord and we have walked

with him through this journey of love. We have faced the agony of his suffering and death

on a cross. We have rejoiced at hiss bursting free from the bonds of death. We have enjoyed

his risen presence with us and his revelation of himself through the breaking of bread. We

have seen his return to the throne before which every knee shall bow and every tongue

confess that this Jesus is Lord. And now, with the followers of his own time, we await the

coming of the Holy Spirit, his gift to his people, through whom we make Christ known to the

the world.

 

There follows a short period of silence and stillness

 

Assistant:         Your raise the dead to life in the spirit.

Kyrie eleison

     All:                     Kyrie eleison

     Assistant:          You bring pardon and peace to the broken in spirit.

                                Christe eleison

     All:                     Christe eleison

Assistant:          You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided .

                                Kyrie eleison

    All:                      Kyrie eleison

 

Priest:   May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and bring you to new life.   Amen.

 

Gloria                                         (tune: Skye Boat Song)             

Glory to God in the heaven above, peace to his friends on earth.

Lord God of hosts, and our heavenly King, Father and mighty God.

We worship you, we give you thanks, praise to your holy name.

‘Glory to God’ heaven declares ‘Glory’ creation sings.

Refrain:  Glory to God in the heaven above, peace to his friends on earth.

                God, ever three, yet eternally one, glorious Trinity.

 

Son of the Father, and Lord of us all, holy eternal Lamb,

Christ, who has carried the sin of the world, mercy on us, we pray.

Jesus our God, Saviour and Judge, answer us when we cry;

Seated on high, reigning with God, hear and receive our prayer.  Refrain.

 

You, Jesus Christ, are the Lord, the Most High, you are the Holy One.

You, only you, with the Spirit divine, reign in the Father’s love.

Blessed are you, Father and Son, Spirit of grace and truth;

Myst’ry profound, veiled yet revealed, hidden in depths of light.  Refrain

 

Collect:  Let us pray     (Collect of the Day) 

Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, ignite in us your holy fire; strengthen your children with the gift of faith, revive your Church with the breath of love, and renew the face of the earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All:  Amen.

 

First Reading    (please sit)                                                                 Acts 2, 1-21      (Nelly Paraskevopoulou)

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

 

Reader:                  This is the word of the Lord.

All:                           Thanks be to God.

 

Sung Alleluia

 

Assistant:               Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people and kindle in them

the fire of your love .

All:                          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     (John 15, 26-27; 16, 4-15)

All:                          Glory to you, O Lord

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

 

Assistant:               This is the gospel of Christ

All:                           Praise to you, O Christ.

 

Sermon                  Fr. Leonard

 

Creed  (led by the Assistant)

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;      All:  hear our prayer               

 

Peace:     The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit . Alleluia.

                  The peace of the Lord be always with you.

All:           And also with you. Alleluia.

 

1 Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
and lighten with celestial fire;
thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

 

2 Thy blessed unction from above
is comfort, life, and fire of love;
enable with perpetual light
the dullness of our mortal sight.

 

3 Teach us to know the Father, Son,
and thee, of both, to be but one;
that through the ages all along
this may be our endless song:

 

4 Praise to thine eternal merit,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

 

The Lord’s Prayer:  (to be prayed in whichever language you chose)

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:  Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal: open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

1 Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

 

2 O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us,
to keep us in his grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
of this world in the next.

 

3 All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
the Son and Spirit blest,
who reign in highest heaven
the one eternal God,
whom heaven and earth adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore. 

 

Blessing and sending out

Priest:        May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the blessing ….

Assistant:  Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia.

All:              In the name of Christ. Amen.    Alleluia, Alleluia.     

 

NOTICES

In the Autumn there will be a new book study – Rowan Williams’ Meeting God in Mark. Details to come.

 

Sunday Noon Zoom link – this now stops for the summer season. The Liturgy is at 10.00am on Wednesdays and Sundays. Please register with Fr. Leonard as we can only have 15 inside the church. Others can sit outside and take advantage of our new outside speakers!

 

Fr. Leonard’s usual Day Off – Monday  (in emergencies contact Deacon Christine)

Home tel :  210 72 14 906;  email anglican@otenet.gr

Deacon Chris: 22950 53164: Day off – Friday

Swedish Church: contact Fr. Bjorn on 694 607 2428  (Swedish Sunday Mass at St. Paul’s at 12 Noon)

 

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

   

 

 

 

Ascension

Service for the 7th Sunday of Easter – 13th June 2021: Sunday after Ascension

St Paul’s Athens and on Zoom

 

1 At the name of Jesus ev’ry knee shall bow,
ev’ry tongue confess him King of glory now.
‘Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

 

2 At his voice creation sprang at once to sight,
all the angel faces, all the hosts of light,
thrones and dominations, stars upon their way,
all the heav’nly orders in their great array.

 

3 Humbled for a season to receive a name
from the lips of sinners unto whom he came,
faithfully he bore it spotless to the last,
brought it back victorious, when from death he passed.

 

4 In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue
all that is not holy, all that is not true;
crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour:
let his will enfold you in its light and pow’r.

 

5 Brothers, this Lord Jesus shall return again,
with his Father’s glory, with his angel train;
for all wreaths of empire meet upon his brow,
and our hearts confess him King of glory now.

 

Assistant:         Christ has gone up on high, leading captivity captive and bringing gifts to all people.

As we prepare ourselves to meet him here in the courts of heaven let us call to mind

our many failures and sins

READ MORE

I am the way

Service for the 6th Sunday of Easter – 6 June 2021

St Paul’s Athens and on  Zoom

 

Fr. Leonard will lead the worship and preach.

 

Priest:                Alleluia. Christ is risen!

All:                     He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heav’n, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art.
Visit us with thy salvation;
enter ev’ry trembling heart.

 

2 Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into ev’ry troubled breast.
Let us all in thee inherit,
let us find the promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.

 

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver,
let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never,
nevermore they temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

 

4 Finish, then, thy new creation;
true and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee.

 

Changed from glory into glory,
till in heav’n we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise.

 

 

Deacon:            Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by

putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and pure heart .

 

There follows a short period of silence and stillness

READ MORE

Summer Raffle

The Great St Paul’s Summer Raffle is here!

 

ST PAUL’S GRAND SUMMER RAFFLE

 

  • Get your tickets online by sending an email to lynnstav@gmail.com – tickets cost €2 each or you can purchase 6 tickets for €10. You can pay either via  e-banking:
  • Account Name: THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN GREECE, ST PAUL’S, ATHENS 
  • BANK: Bank of Piraeus
  • IBAN: GR82 0172 0500 0050 5008 6327 479
  • or by using  PAYPALwww.paypal.me/StPaulsathens

 

  • Payments should include your name, the description “Summer Raffle” and your email address, so that we know who is sending, for what purpose and to let you know if you win a prize! We’ll then email you with your ticket numbers. The draw will be done in the Church garden after the service on the first Sunday following the close of the Raffle (date to be announced). Ticket holders are invited to come along and maybe collect a prize.  If you are a winner but can’t be there, or if we are obliged to do the draw via Zoom, winners will be notified by email.
  • Prizes can be collected during daily opening hours (10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday) or during coffee time after the 10 a.m. Sunday liturgy, on presentation of the email you received giving your ticket numbers. The winner will then sign to confirm receipt of the prize.  Please note: prizes will be kept for a fortnight (2 Sundays). If not collected during that period, they will be entered into a forthcoming raffle. In the event of a lockdown, the fortnight counts from the date the church reopens.

READ MORE

Bible Study Blog

June Bible Studies – Exodus

Leonard Doolan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.  3 texts supplied *- 4th Session text still to be decided.

Topic: Bible Study – Exodus

Time: Jun 4, 2021 07:00 PM Athens

        Every week on Fri, 4 occurrence(s)

        Jun 4, 2021 07:00 PM

        Jun 11, 2021 07:00 PM

        Jun 18, 2021 07:00 PM

        Jun 25, 2021 07:00 PM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Weekly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0tc-6orzIsHN2YSAAsh7B7AYbVApPumTex/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGhrj8tGtWcth-ORpx5Ao-gKPTzmFhdgo0PpSzEIjNbNSGhF9tABJNvIM3d

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89047019669?pwd=L29kbFhJdnRmeVRIN0JoekcvVElQQT09

 Meeting ID: 890 4701 9669

Passcode: 01yi2C

*Exodus First Session

*Exodus second session

*Exodus third session

12308003_171512473200609_7163125448344572824_o

Updated Covid restrictions and Social Distancing regulations – a message from our Chaplain

Dear All

 As you know I have been trying always to ensure that our compliance with Government COVID restrictions conform to legal interpretation from our lawyer, Mrs. Papatsori.

I was able to speak with her this morning. Nothing has changed yet in terms of 1 person per 15sqm inside the church – double masking. Outside we should be 2 metres away from each other, seated.

Free self-testing for those ‘essential for the worship’ has now ended. Instead a Vaccination certificate is required – either the Greek one or the EU COVID passport, proving that the individual is vaccinated (or a CPR test, 72 hrs before, or a more recent negative self-test.) I have to hold a copy of this certificate in the church. People around the altar, the Wardens, and Sidesperson, should provide one of the forms of certification in order to undertake their duty. The same is required for those attending the Swedish Mass.

Coffee after the service is still not permitted – ‘by analogy’ (the phrase used by the Government regulators) coffee would have to be at tables, no one standing, tables socially distanced, ‘coffee servers’ masked and tested. Clearly we cannot comply with this as yet. Let’s hope for the future….

The Government seems keen to progress by encouragements or advantages towards vaccination. We will see how this affects the churches.

Thanks for continued patience.

Fr. Leonard

The lord is my shepherd

Service for the 5th Sunday of Easter at St Paul’s Athens and on Zoom

Fr. Leonard will lead the worship and preach.

 

Priest:                Alleluia. Christ is risen!

All:                     He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

1 The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.

 

2 My soul he doth restore again,
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
e’en for his own name’s sake.

 

3 Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.

 

4 My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes.
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.

 

5 Goodness and mercy all my life
shall surely follow me,
and in God’s house forevermore
my dwelling place shall be.

 

 

Assistant:         Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by

putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and pure heart .

There follows a short period of silence and stillness

READ MORE

He is risen

Service for the 4th Sunday of Easter 23rd May 2021 at St Paul’s Athens and on Zoom

Deacon Christine is leading the worship and Fr. Leonard is the preacher.

 

Deacon:            Alleluia. Christ is risen!

All:                     He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him in the height;
rejoice in his word,
ye angels of light;
ye heavens, adore him
by whom ye were made,
and worship before him,
in brightness arrayed.

O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him upon earth,
in tuneful accord,
ye sons of new birth;
praise him who hath brought you
his grace from above,
praise him who hath taught you
to sing of his love.

O praise ye the Lord!
All things that give sound;
each jubilant chord
re-echo around;
loud organs, his glory
forth tell in deep tone,
and sweet harp, the story
of what he hath done.

 

O praise ye the Lord!
Thanksgiving and song
to him be outpoured
all ages along!
For love in creation,
for heaven restored,
for grace of salvation,
O praise ye the Lord!

READ MORE

He is risen

Service for the 3rd Sunday of Easter: 16th May 2021 at St Paul’s and on Zoom

 

Fr. Leonard is leading the worship and is preaching.

 

Priest:            Alleluia. Christ is risen!

All:                 He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem,                        (tune St. Fulbert)
Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn
In strains of holy joy.

For Judah’s Lion bursts His chains,
Crushing the serpent’s head;
And cries aloud through death’s domains
To wake th’imprison’d dead.

Devouring depths of hell
Their prey at His command restore;
His ransom’d hosts pursue their way
Where Jesus goes before.

Triumphant in His glory now
To Him all power is given;
To Him in one communion bow
All saints in earth and heaven.

While we, His soldiers, praise our King,
His mercy we implore,
Within His palace bright to bring
And keep us evermore.

All glory to the Father be,
All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
While endless ages run.

READ MORE

He is risen

Service for the 2nd Sunday of Easter: 9th May 202 at St Paul’s and on Zoom

Fr. Leonard is leading the worship and Deacon Christine is preaching.

 

Priest:            Alleluia. Christ is risen!

All:                 He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

 

1 Alleluia! Alleluia!
Hearts to heav’n and voices raise;
sing to God a hymn of gladness,
sing to God a hymn of praise:
he who on the cross a victim
for the world’s salvation bled,
Jesus Christ, the King of Glory,
now is risen from the dead.

 

2 Christ is risen, Christ the first-fruits
of the holy harvest field,
which will all its full abundance
at his second coming yield:
then the golden ears of harvest
will their heads before him wave,
ripened by his glorious sunshine
from the furrows of the grave.

 

3 Alleluia! Alleluia!
Glory be to God on high;
alleluia to the Saviour,
who has won the victory;
alleluia to the Spirit,
fount of love and sanctity.
Alleluia! Alleluia
to the Triune Majesty
.

 

Assistant:      Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by

putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and pure heart .

READ MORE