Service for All Saints Sunday – 31st October 2021
St Paul’s Athens
Welcome to St. Paul’s. If you are visiting, or here for the first time.
Presiding Priest: The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan
Deacon & preacher: The Revd. Deacon Christine Saccali
Entrance Hymn 148 The God of Abraham praise
Priest: In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Priest: The Lord be with you
All: And also with you
Words by Jonny Baker, taken from the book: ‘The Hospitality of God’ by Michael Perham
Deacon: All are invited, all are included
All are made welcome, none are excluded
This is the table of Christ
Come if you’re young, come if you’re old
Come if you’re broken, come if you’re whole
Come if you’re weary of the trials of life
This is the table of Christ.
Introduction The priest welcomes everyone and introduces the service
Confession
There will be a short moment of silence as we bring to mind our wrongdoings
Deacon: Lord, you are gracious and compassionate:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: You are loving to all and your mercy is over all your creation:
Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
Deacon: Your faithful servants bless your name and speak of your glory:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all those who are 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 Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria: Glory to God in the highest, and 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 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 glory of God the Father. Amen. AMEN.
Collect
The Priest then prays the collect for the day
God of holiness, your glory is proclaimed in every age: as we rejoice in the faith of your saints, inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1st Reading: (Wisdom 3, 1-9 Lynn Stavrou)
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.
This is the Word of the Lord
All: thanks be to God
Hymn 231 Who are these like stars appearing
2nd Reading: (Revelation 21, 1-6)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwel with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
This is the Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
Sung: Alleluia
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you.
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (11, 32-44)
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Deacon: This is the Gospel of the Lord
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Profession of Faith (please stand)
Priest: Let us affirm our faith in God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Priest: Do you believe and trust in God the Father,
source of all being and life,
the one for whom we exist?
All: I believe and trust in him.
Priest: Do you believe and trust in God the Son,
who took our human nature,
died for us and rose again?
All: I believe and trust in him.
Priest: Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God
and makes Christ known in the world?
All: I believe and trust in him.
Priest: This is the faith of the Church.
All: This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Intercessions (please sit or kneel)
Lord in your mercy: reply ‘hear our prayer’
……Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Peace (please stand)
Priest: 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.
All: and also with you.
Hymn: 296 Lord enthroned (during this hymn the collection will be taken)
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation;
you bring forth bread from the earth.
All: Blessed be God for ever.
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation;
you create the fruit of the vine.
All: Blessed be God for ever.
Priest: Jesus the host washes your feet
makes you his guest and lays on a feast.
This is the table of Christ,
come if you’re rich, come if you’re poor,
come if the church stops you at the door,
come and eat bread, come and drink wine.
This is the table of Christ.
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: It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And now we give you thanks, most gracious god, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and glorified in the assembly of your saints. The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white robed army of martyrs praise you. We, your holy Church, acclaim you. In communion with angels and archangels, and with all who served you on earth and worship you now in heaven, we raise our voice to proclaim your glory, for ever praising you and singing:
All: 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, hosanna in the highest.
Priest: Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; 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 gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: 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.
And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption. As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of the Holy Mother of God, St. Paul, and all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Please kneel or sit
Priest: As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
All: 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 Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.
Agnus Dei: 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.
Priest: Eat and remember Jesus the one
Who gave up his life so you could belong,
This is the table of Christ.
Come if you’re thirsty, come and be filled
Come and be clean, come and be healed
Come and be held in the presence of God.
This is the table of Christ.
The Communion
All are invited to come forward and receive Holy Communion; if you wish you can receive a blessing. The organ will play during the distribution.
Post-Communion Prayer
Priest: God, the source of all holiness and giver of all good things: may we who have shared this table as strangers and pilgrims here on earth be welcomed with all your saints to the heavenly feast on the day of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: Faithful God,
in baptism you have adopted us as your children,
made us members of the body of Christ
and chosen us as inheritors of your kingdom:
we thank you that in this Eucharist
you renew your promises within us,
empower us by your Spirit to witness and to serve,
and send us out as disciples of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hymn: 197 For all the saints (omit verses 3&5)
Priest: God grant you faith to follow his saints in faith and hope and
love, and the blessing….
All: Amen.
Dismissal
Deacon: Following God’s saints in the ways of holiness and truth,
go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ. Amen
NOTICES
- Next Sunday names of the faithful departed will be read out. There is a list in church to add names
- Sunday 14th November will be Remembrance Sunday. Service at 10.00am in St. Paul’s and 12 noon at Alimos Cemetery. Knitted poppies are available at €3,00
- Quiz Night – November 12th at the Swedish Centre. Please speak to Jean Mertzanakis about details.
- Christmas Bazaar – December 5th in the foyer of the Amphitheatre at the war Museum. Start preparing!
Clergy Contacts
- Leonard’s usual Day Off – Monday (in emergencies contact Deacon Christine)
Home tel : 210 72 14 906; email anglican@otenet.gr
- Deacon Christine: 22950 53164: Day Off – friday
- Swedish Church – Fr. Bjorn 694 6072 428
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
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