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
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, your life for the world.
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)
Risen Christ, by the lakeside you renewed the call to your disciples; help your Church to obey your command and draw the nations to the fire of your love, to the glory of God the Father. All: Amen.
First Reading (please sit) Acts 10, 44-end (Jennifer Dovellou)
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Sung Alleluia
Deacon: Alleluia. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He has defeated the powers of death.
Jesus turns our sorrow into dancing. He has the words of eternal life.
All: Alleluia
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John (John 15, 9-17)
All: Glory to you, O Lord
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Deacon: This is the gospel of Christ
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon Fr. Leonard
Creed
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 risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then were they
glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you. Alleluia.
1 Love’s redeeming work is done;
fought the fight, the battle won:
lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er,
lo, he sets in blood no more.
2 Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Christ has burst the gates of hell;
death in vain forbids his rise;
Christ has opened paradise.
3 Lives again our glorious King;
where, O death, is now thy sting?
dying once, he all doth save;
where thy victory, O grave?
4 Soar we now where Christ has led,
following our exalted Head;
made like him, like him we rise;
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
5 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to thee by both be given:
thee we greet triumphant now;
hail, the Resurrection Thou!
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: 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.
1 God is working this purpose out,
as year succeeds to year;
God is working this purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be:
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.
2 From utmost east to utmost west,
where human feet have trod,
by the mouth of many messengers
goes forth the voice of God:
“Give ear to me, ye continents,
ye isles, give ear to me,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.”
3 Let us go forth in the strength of God,
with the banner of Christ unfurled,
that the light of the glorious gospel of truth
may shine throughout the world.
Let us all fight with sorrow and sin
to set the captives free,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.
4 All we can do is nothing worth
unless God blesses the deed.
Vainly we hope for the harvest-tide
till God gives life to the seed.
Yet nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.
Blessing and sending out
Priest: The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, 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 ….
Assistant: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia.
All: In the name of Christ. Amen. Alleluia, Alleluia.
Notices
Bible Study: For 4 Fridays in June at 19.00hrs (7.00pm) there will be a Zoom bible study looking at some passages of Exodus. See website for Zoom link.
Sunday Noon Zoom link – you will need the same link until Pentecost (June 20th). After that the Zoom 12 Noon service will cease. Any changes will be notified. The order of service is also on the website each week. Also the church will be open to limited numbers (now 15 people) for worship, and we can have some people seated outside. This will be in St. Paul’s at 10.00am. Pre-register your attendance with Fr. Leonard.
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
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