Zoom Service for Palm Sunday- 25th April 2021
We have permission from our bishop to follow the Greek calendar date for Easter (this year only) so today is Palm Sunday. Every day this Holy Week (Monday- Good Friday) there is a form of worship at 10.00hrs. There is a Zoom link. Please join at least 5 minutes before 10.00am if you can. Deacon Chris has a meditation on FB daily at 09.00hrs
Easter Sunday: 10.00hrs Holy Liturgy in St. Paul’s (pre-register your attendance)
12.00 noon Zoom Worship (new Zoom link)
Fr. Leonard is leading the worship and preaching this morning, assisted by Deacon Christine. Christina Antoniadou is playing the keyboard. Please see ‘Chat’ on the day, to see the pieces Christina is playing.
Deacon: Blessed be the Kingdom of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
All: Now and for ever.
Deacon: Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: and also with you.
All glory, laud, and honour
To Thee, Redeemer, King!
To Whom the lips of children
Made sweet Hosannas ring,
Thou art the King of Israel
Thou David’s Royal Son,
Who in the LORD’S name comest,
The King and Blessèd One.
All glory, &c.
The company of Angels
Is praising Thee on high,
And mortal men, and all things
Created make reply.
All glory, &c.
The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went
Our praise and prayers and anthems
Before Thee we present.
All glory, &c.
To Thee before Thy Passion
They sang their hymns of praise;
To Thee now high exalted
Our melody we raise.
All glory, &c.
Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the praise we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King.
All glory, &c.
Fr. Leonard will welcome the congregation.
All: Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Priest: Behold your king comes to you, O Zion, meek and lowly, sitting upon an ass. Ride on in the cause of truth and for the sake of justice. Your throne is the throne of God, it endures for ever; and the sceptre of your kingdom is a righteous sceptre. You have loved righteousness and hated evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
All: Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Priest: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, during Lent we have been preparing by works of love and self-sacrifice for the celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection. Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration in union with the Church throughout the world. Christ enters his own city to complete his work as our Saviour, to suffer, to die, and to rise again. Let us go with him in faith and love, so that, united with him in his sufferings, we may share his risen life.
The people’s Palm Crosses will be available in church to be collected after we re-open.
God our Saviour, whose Son Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem as Messiah to suffer and to die; let these palms + be for us signs of his victory and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our King, and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Deacon: Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him. Let us then renounce our wilfulness and ask his mercy by confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
There follows a short period of silence and stillness
Deacon: Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin
Kyrie eleison
All: Kyrie eleison
Deacon: Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me
Christe eleison
All: Christe eleison
Deacon: Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me
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 raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
Traditionally today we do not sing or say the Gloria
Collect: Let us pray (Collect of the Day)
True and humble King, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross, which is the path of glory; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
First Reading (please sit) Isaiah 50, 4-9 (Lynn Stavrou)
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens — wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
1 Thy kingdom come, O God,
thy rule, O Christ, begin;
break with thine iron rod
the tyrannies of sin.
2 Where is thy reign of peace
and purity and love?
When shall all hatred cease,
as in the realms above?
3 When comes the promised time
that war shall be no more,
and lust, oppression, crime
shall flee thy face before?
4 We pray thee, Lord, arise,
and come in thy great might;
revive our longing eyes,
which languish for thy sight.
5 Men scorn thy sacred name,
and wolves devour thy fold;
by many deeds of shame
we learn that love grows cold.
6 O’er lands both near and far
thick darkness broodeth yet:
arise, O Morning Star,
arise, and never set!
From Psalm 24
Reader: Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
All: Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Reader: Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
All: Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Deacon: Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory. Blessed are those who have endured temptation:
they have stood the test and will receive the crown of life.
All: Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
Deacon: The Lord be with you
All: and also with you
Deacon: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew (Matthew 21, 1-11)
All: Glory to you, O Lord
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
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; hear our prayer
Peace: Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us access to his grace. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
You might like to scroll along the gallery of the participants to see who you are sharing the peace with – remember to put your Sunday collection aside or send it by bank transfer. Also – as a special Easter donation you can ‘fill the basket with eggs’ (See website) and you can make a donation for an Easter lily in memory of a loved one – the closing date is this Wednesday!
1 How shall I sing that majesty (tune Kingsfold)
which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie;
sing, sing, ye heavenly choir.
Thousands of thousands stand around
thy throne, O God most high;
ten thousand times ten thousand sound
thy praise; but who am I?
2 Thy brightness unto them appears,
whilst I thy footsteps trace;
a sound of God comes to my ears,
but they behold thy face.
They sing, because thou art their Sun;
Lord, send a beam on me;
for where heaven is but once begun
there alleluias be.
3 Enlighten with faith’s light my heart,
inflame it with love’s fire;
then shall I sing and bear a part
with that celestial choir.
I shall, I fear, be dark and cold,
with all my fire and light;
yet when thou dost accept their gold,
Lord, treasure up my mite.
4 How great a being, Lord, is thine,
which doth all beings keep!
Thy knowledge is the only line
to sound so vast a deep.
Thou art a sea without a shore,
a sun without a sphere;
thy time is now and evermore,
thy place is everywhere.
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: Lord Jesus Christ, you humbled yourself in taking the form of a servant, and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation; give us the mind to follow you and to proclaim you as Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
1 Praise to the Holiest in the height,
and in the depth be praise:
in all his words most wonderful,
most sure in all his ways.
2 O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
a second Adam to the fight
and to the rescue came.
3 O wisest love! that flesh and blood,
which did in Adam fail,
should strive afresh against the foe,
should strive and should prevail;
4 And that a higher gift than grace
should flesh and blood refine,
God’s presence and his very self,
and essence all-divine.
5 O generous love! that he, who smote
in Man for man the foe,
the double agony in Man
for man should undergo;
6 And in the garden secretly,
and on the cross on high,
should teach his brethren, and inspire
to suffer and to die.
7 Praise to the Holiest in the height,
and in the depth be praise:
in all his words most wonderful,
most sure in all his ways.
Priest: Christ crucified draw you to himself, to find in him a sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the assurance of sins forgiven….
Deacon: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ. Amen.
Notices
You will need a new link for May 2nd onwards (Easter Sunday). This will be for the whole of May and June at 12.00. The order of service is also on the website each week. Also the church will be open to limited numbers (9 people) for worship. This will be in St. Paul’s at 10.00am (not shown on Zoom). Pre-register your attendance with Fr. Leonard.
- Daily Facebook Meditations daily in Holy Week – 00 on Deacon Chris’s Facebook.
- Easter Eggs in a basket – a lovely project that allows you to make a special Easter donation to St. Paul’s Church. Please see the website for all the details.
- Easter Lilies – to remember a loved one this Easter please order a lily ‘online’ and make a donation. See the website for details (closing date is Wed 28th April).
- Next Sunday (May 2nd Easter-Pentecost June 20th) There is a new ZOOM LINK for 12 Noon – please join a little before 12.00 if you can.
HOLY WEEK: There is a special HOLY WEEK Zoom link for Monday-Friday of Holy Week for a devotion/service at 10.00am each day. Deacon Christine offers something daily on Facebook also.
- Monday 26th April: Facebook at 09.00hrs (Deacon Chris)
- Zoom at 10.00hrs
- Tuesday 27th April: Facebook at 09.00hrs
- Zoom at 10.00hrs
- Wednesday 28th Apr: Facebook at 09.00
- Zoom at 10.00hrs (Litany)
- Holy Thursday 29th Facebook at 09.00hrs
- Zoom at 10.00hrs
- Good Friday 30th Facebook at 09.00hrs
- Zoom at 10.00hrs (Stations of the Cross)
- Holy Sat/day May 1st Facebook at 09.00hrs
- Easter Sunday May 2nd 12 NOON ZOOM WORSHIP – NEW LINK!
Fr. Leonard’s usual Day Off – Monday (in emergencies contact Deacon Christine)
(Fr. Leonard on Leave from 3rd May- 8th May) 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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