SERVICE FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 2ND JUNE 2024
Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. Fr. Bjorn Kling of the Swedish church will preside. The deacon is Revd. Deacon Christine Saccali. Licensed Reader Nelly Paraskevopoulou will preach.
Entrance Introit: 234 (Ratisbon) Christ, whose glory fills the skies
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
The priest then informally welcomes the people of God and the deacon leads us into Confession.
Deacon: We run the race set before us, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Therefore let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, bringing them to Jesus in penitence and faith. (A short period of stillness and silence)
All: Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.
Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all who 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 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria 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 away 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 of truth,
help us to keep your law of love
and to walk in ways of wisdom,
that we may find true life
in Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen
First Reading (please sit) Deuteronomy 5. 12-15
‘Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Psalm: Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 81; 1-10
Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out over[a] the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:
“I relieved your[b] shoulder of the burden;
your[c] hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Second Reading 2 Corinthians 4. 5-12
For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For we who are living are always being handed over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us but life in you.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Hymn Gradual: 257 (Billing) This is the day the Lord has made
Gospel Reading
Deacon: Alleluia! Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. You have the words of eternal life.
All (sung): Alleluia
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark (Mark 2.23-3.6)
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food, how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath, so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They were watching him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
At the end of the Gospel
Deacon: This is the gospel of the Lord
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (Please sit) Nelly Paraskevopoulou
Creed (Please stand)
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; hear our prayer.
Peace: God is love and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you. (We are then invited to share the peace)
Offertory Hymn Offertory: 465 (Margaret) Thou didst leave thy throne (The Collection will be taken)
The Great Thanksgiving Prayer ( Please remain standing )
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 and good that we should give you thanks, praise and glory, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. For after his resurrection he sent out apostles and evangelists to preach the gospel to all nations and lead us into the way of truth. Himself the chief cornerstone, he founded his church upon the apostles firmly to stand for ever as a sign of your holiness upon the earth and a living witness to all of the way that leads to heaven. And so with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we lift our voices and join in their unending hymn of praise:
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.
Priest: How wonderful the work of your hands, O Lord! As a mother tenderly gathers her children you embraced a people as your own. When they turned away and rebelled your love remained steadfast. From them you raised up Jesus our Saviour, born of Mary, to be the living bread, in whom all our hungers are satisfied. He offered his life for sinners and with a love stronger than death he opened wide his arms on the cross. On the night before he died, he came to supper with his friends, and taking bread, he gave you thanks. He broke it and gave it to them, saying: Take eat: this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said: 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: Christ is the bread of life
All: When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
Priest: Father, we plead with confidence his sacrifice made once for all on the cross: we remember his dying and rising in glory, and we rejoice that he prays for us at your right hand. Pour out your Holy Spirit as we bring before you these gifts of your creation; may they be for us the body and blood of your dear Son. As we eat and drink these holy things in your presence, form us in the likeness of Christ, and build us into a living temple to your glory. Remember Lord your Church in every land. Reveal her unity, guard her faith, and preserve her in peace with our Bishop Robert and all the congregations of this diocese; bring your church at the last with the Holy Mother of God, Barnabas, Paul, and all the saints to the vision of that eternal splendour for which you have created us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom, with all who stand before you earth and heaven, we worship you in songs of everlasting praise;
All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer: (to be prayed in whichever language you choose)
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 the risen Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
Sung: 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, grant us peace
Invitation to Communion
Priest: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.
All: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed
All baptized Christians may come forward to receive the body and blood of Christ. If you wish you may receive a blessing.
Communion Hymn: 305 (Anima Christi) Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast]
Post Communion Prayer: Let us pray (please stand)
Priest: Eternal Father,
we thank you for nourishing us
with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith,
build us up in hope,
and make us grow in love;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
All. We thank you, Lord, that you have fed us in this sacrament, united us with Christ, and given us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for all peoples. Amen.
Notices
Post Communion Hymn: 263 (Lasst uns Erfreuen) All creatures of our God and King (verses 1, 2, 3, 4, & 7)
Blessing and Dismissal
Priest: God give you grace to follow his saints in faith and hope and love;
and the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.
Deacon: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
All: In the name of Christ. Amen.
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
- Church History and Guidebook ‘Opening Doors’ available for sale always when the church is open. €10,00 a copy,
- Tuesday Morning Zoom Prayer Connect – see the website for details
- Community Connect Coffee Mornings , 13th June, 10.30-12.30 in the Church Garden ask Anne Dedes for info. These are in the Church Garden
- Quiz Nights – 14th June at the Swedish Center, Apollonos 6, at 19.30 hrs.
- -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.
- View our Website: anglicanchurchathens.gr
- Or “Like” us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanAthens/
- Or ‘follow’ us on Twitter: @AthensAnglican
Liturgical material Copyright the Archbishops’ Council.
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