Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At choral Evensong most of the service is sung by the choir on our behalf. We participate through our presence and our listening, that the words and the music might become a prayer within us and lift us to contemplate God's beauty and glory.

The service always includes one or more psalms. These ancient prayers, taken from the Old Testament, reflect the full range of human emotions and experiences; from the depths of anger, resentment, and abandonment to the heights of ecstatic joy and praise. They were used by Jesus, and have always been at the heart of the Church's daily prayer.

The canticles Magnificat (Luke 1: 46–55) and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2: 29–32) reflect two responses to the Incarnation (God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ). Both speak of the fulfilment of God's promises, not just to 'Abraham and his seed', but also 'to be a light to lighten the Gentiles' (all nations). With their themes of fulfilment and completion, these texts have been given central place for many centuries in the Church's prayers for the evening and at the end of the day.

Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

The service is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between St George's College Jerusalem and the work of the Abbey. St George's College Jerusalem is the Anglican centre for pilgrimage, education, hospitality, and reconciliation in the Holy Land.

Order of Service

The choir sings the Introit

O Lord, increase my faith; strengthen me, and confirm me in thy true faith. Endue me with wisdom, charity, chastity, and patience. In all my adversity, sweet Jesu say, 'Amen'.

Words: anonymous
Music: attributed to Henry Loosemore (c 1607–70)

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

All remain standing as the officiant introduces the Confession

Beloved, we are come together in the presence of Almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and show forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all people such things as their well-being doth require. Wherefore let us sit or kneel and keep silence, and remember God's presence with us now.

All kneel or sit to say together

O God, our Father,
we have sinned against thee
in thought, word, and deed;
we have not loved thee with all our heart;
we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.
Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee;
cleanse us from our sins;
and help us to overcome our faults;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

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 stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Music: Humphrey Clucas (b 1941)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 65

Thou, O God, art praised in Sion : and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
Thou that hearest the prayer : unto thee shall all flesh come.
My misdeeds prevail against me : O be thou merciful unto our sins.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thee : he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Thou shalt shew us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation : thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea.
Who in his strength setteth fast the mountains : and is girded about with power.
Who stilleth the raging of the sea : and the noise of his waves, and the madness of the people.
They also that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens : thou that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee.
Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it : thou makest it very plenteous.
The river of God is full of water : thou preparest their corn, for so thou providest for the earth.
Thou waterest her furrows, thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof : thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness : and thy clouds drop fatness.
They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness : and the little hills shall rejoice on every side.
The folds shall be full of sheep : the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn, that they shall laugh and sing.

All stand

Chant: Philip Taylor (1892–1988)

All sit for the first Lesson, Baruch 3: 14–end

Learn where there is wisdom,
   where there is strength,
   where there is understanding,
so that you may at the same time discern
   where there is length of days, and life,
   where there is light for the eyes, and peace.

Who has found her place?
   And who has entered her storehouses?
Where are the rulers of the nations,
   and those who lorded it over the animals on earth;
those who made sport of the birds of the air,
   and who hoarded up silver and gold
in which people trust,
   and there is no end to their getting;
those who schemed to get silver, and were anxious,
   but there is no trace of their works?
They have vanished and gone down to Hades,
   and others have arisen in their place.

Later generations have seen the light of day,
   and have lived upon the earth;
but they have not learned the way to knowledge,
   nor understood her paths,
   nor laid hold of her.
Their descendants have strayed far from her way.
She has not been heard of in Canaan,
   or seen in Teman;
the descendants of Hagar, who seek for understanding on the earth,
   the merchants of Merran and Teman,
   the story-tellers and the seekers for understanding,
have not learned the way to wisdom,
   or given thought to her paths.

O Israel, how great is the house of God,
   how vast the territory that he possesses!
It is great and has no bounds;
   it is high and immeasurable.
The giants were born there, who were famous of old,
   great in stature, expert in war.
God did not choose them,
   or give them the way to knowledge;
so they perished because they had no wisdom,
   they perished through their folly.

Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her,
   and brought her down from the clouds?
Who has gone over the sea, and found her,
   and will buy her for pure gold?
No one knows the way to her,
   or is concerned about the path to her.
But the one who knows all things knows her,
   he found her by his understanding.
The one who prepared the earth for all time
   filled it with four-footed creatures;
the one who sends forth the light, and it goes;
   he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling;
the stars shone in their watches, and were glad;
   he called them, and they said, 'Here we are!'
   They shone with gladness for him who made them.
This is our God;
   no other can be compared to him.
He found the whole way to knowledge,
   and gave her to his servant Jacob
   and to Israel, whom he loved.
Afterwards she appeared on earth
   and lived with humankind.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Second Service, William Byrd (c 1540–1623)

All sit for the second Lesson, John 1: 1–18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, 'This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me."') From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Second Service, William Byrd

All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy: and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Music: Humphrey Clucas

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Words: Collect for Holy Communion in 'The Book of Common Prayer' 1549
Music: William Byrd

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the Members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All say

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.

All stand as the choir and clergy depart

Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary

Choristerships at Westminster Abbey

St Margaret's Choristers

If you have a daughter aged 10 or 11 who would like to sing with the St Margaret's Choristers, please contact Greg Morris, Director of Music, St Margaret's Church, [email protected]. Find out more about Music at St Margaret's Church.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey

If you have a son who enjoys singing, you can find out more information about our world-renowned Abbey Choir and its unique Choir School. 

Alternatively, please contact Dr Emma Margrett, Head, Westminster Abbey Choir School, [email protected]. Mr Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, [email protected].

If you attend worship at the Abbey regularly, you may like to add this page to your home screen for easy access to our orders of service.

Common Worship (Church House Publishing, 2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council. Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version.