Service for the 5th Sunday of Easter – 28th April 2024
Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. Please stay for refreshments in the church garden after the Liturgy.
The presiding priest and preacher this morning is Fr. Terry Hemming, and the deacon is Revd., Deacon Christine Saccali
Entrance Hymn Introit: 408 (Blaenwern) Love divine, all loves excelling
Priest: Alleluia! Christ is risen
All: He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Priest: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
The priest then welcomes the people of God and the deacon leads us into Confession.
Silence
Deacon: Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.
Kyrie eleison
All: Kyrie eleison
Deacon: Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins.
Christe eleison
All: Christe eleison
Deacon: Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread.
Kyrie eleison
All: Kyrie eleison
Absolution: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
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)
God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
First Reading (please sit) Acts 8. 26-end
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip[c] baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
Psalm: Ps. 22; 25-31
2nd Reading 1 John 4. 7-end
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
Gospel Hymn Gradual: 428 (Warrington) O Son of God, eternal love
Gospel Reading
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John (John 15. 1-8)
All: Glory to you, O Lord
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
At the end of the Gospel
Deacon: This is the gospel of the Lord, Alleluia!
All: Alleluia
Sermon (Please sit) Fr. Terry Hemming
Credo
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) Response: Hear or prayer.
Peace: The risen Lord came among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you’. Then were they glad when they saw the Lord! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! The peace of the Lord be always with you. Alleluia!
All: And also with you. Alleluia!
The Deacon invites us to share the peace.
Offertory Hymn 476 (Paderborn) Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim (The Collection will be taken)
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
All: Through your goodness we have this bread to offer. Fruit of the field and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life. Blessed be God for ever!
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
All: Through your goodness we have this wine to offer. Fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become for us the cup of salvation. Blessed be God for ever!
The Great Thanksgiving Prayer ( Please remain standing for this)
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, almighty and eternal Father, and in these days of Easter to celebrate with joyful hearts the memory of your wonderful works. For by the mystery of his passion Jesus Christ, your risen Son, has conquered the powers of death and hell and restored in men and women the image of your glory. He has placed them once more in paradise and opened to them the gate of life eternal. And so in the joy of this Passover, earth and heaven resound with gladness, while angels and archangels and the powers of all creation sing for ever the hymn of your glory:
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. Alleluia!
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.
(Sung) Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us, have mercy on us. (sing twice)
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.
Priest: Alleluia! Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us
All: Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!
All baptized Christians may come forward to receive the body and blood of Christ. If you wish you may receive a blessing
Communion Hymn: 276 (Bread of Heaven) Bread of heaven, on thee we feed
Post Communion Prayer: Let us pray (please stand)
Priest: God our Father, whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life: may we thirst for you, the spring of life and source of goodness, through him who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
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.
Notices
Post Communion Hymn: 467 (Wiltshire) Through all the changing scenes of life
Priest: The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, and the blessing ….
Deacon: Go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
All Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Fr Terry Hemming contact email: revhemm@yahoo.co.uk mobile 6973670585
Deacon Chris: 22950 53164: day off Friday.
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
Notices:
- Advance Notice – the Spring Bazaar will be on Saturday 25thSpeak to Lynn Stavrou about how you can help.
- Check out our new contactless card reader if you would like to make a donation
- -please look after your personal belongings as thieves are known to operate in this area
- –A POS is available so you can make your Sunday donation by card
- -A QR code is now functioning, you can donate simply by scanning it. It can be found at the back of the church and on the noticeboard.
- – Weekly ‘online’ Prayer Group on Tuesdays at 09.00 a.m. Zoom login is on our website.
- Coffee Mornings : Thursday 16th May 10.30-12.30 in the church garden. Ask Anne Dedes for information
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