Service for Trinity Sunday – 26th May 2024
Welcome to St Paul’s Athens, especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.
Please join us after the service for refreshments in the garden.
The worship is led by Licensed Reader Nelly Paraskevopoulou
Non Profit Organization ‘Creative Hands’ will present their work, in a question and answer session with Deacon Chris, especially appropriate to the strands of the Trinity which we celebrate today.
Entrance Introit: 146 (Nicaea) Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Minister: Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you
All: and also with you.
Minister: O Lord, open our lips
All: and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help
All: and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.
The minister then welcomes people informally.
Prayers of Penitence
Minister: Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;
we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Minister: May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us
in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen
Psalm Psalm: Ps. 29
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl[b]
and strips the forest bare,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
First Reading : Isaiah 6. 1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
All: Thanks be to God.
Minister: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
All: And Christ shall give you light.
Minister: You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.
All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.
Minister: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.
All: And Christ shall give you light.
Minister: When Christ our life appears you will appear with him in glory.
All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.
The Benedictus Luke 1, 68-79 (Please stand to say the canticle together)
- Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free.
- He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, born of the house of his servant David.
- Through his holy prophets God promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,
- To show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant.
- This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
- Free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
- And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
- To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins.
- In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
- To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen.
Gradual: 466 (Moscow) Thou whose almighty word
Second Reading John 3. 1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Presentation by ‘Creative Hands’.
The Apostles’ Creed (remain standing)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Intercessions: Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Collect:
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
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.
The Peace (Please stand) The peace of the Lord be always with you
All: and also with you
Offertory: 145 (Illsley) All hail, adored Trinity (During this hymn the collection will be taken)
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.
148 (Leoni) The God of Abraham praise (Verses 1, 4, 6, 7, 8)
Minister: Let us say the Grace together: The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
Deacon Chris: Day Off – Friday 697 737 7655
Swedish Church: Fr. Bjorn 694 6072428
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
Liturgical Material Copyright of the Archbishops’ Council
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