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 and singing the hymn 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 Choristers of Westminster Abbey.

Following the service, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Open Doors and the work of the Abbey. Open Doors helps persecuted Christians around the world continue to follow Jesus courageously.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

Te lucis ante terminum
Rerum Creator poscimus:
Ut solita clementia
Sis praesul et custodia.

Te corda nostra somnient,
Te per soporem sentiant,
Tuamque semper gloriam
Vicina luce concinant.

Praesta, Pater omnipotens,
Per Jesum Christum Dominum
Qui tecum in perpetuum
Regnat cum Sancto Spiritu.
   Amen.

Before the ending of the day, we beseech you, O Maker of all, that in your mercy you would be our guide and protector.

Let dreams and nightly phantasms be put far from us, and restrain our enemy lest our bodies be defiled.

Protect us, O holy Father, who, coequal with the Son and with the Holy Spirit the Advocate, reign throughout all ages. Amen.

Words: office hymn at Compline, c 7th century
Music: plainsong

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: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 96

O sing unto the Lord a new song : sing unto the Lord, all the whole earth.
Sing unto the Lord, and praise his name : be telling of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his honour unto the heathen : and his wonders unto all people.
For the Lord is great, and cannot worthily be praised : he is more to be feared than all gods.
As for all the gods of the heathen, they are but idols : but it is the Lord that made the heavens.
Glory and worship are before him : power and honour are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people : ascribe unto the Lord worship and power.
Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his name : bring presents, and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness : let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King : and that it is he who hath made the round world so fast that it cannot be moved; and how that he shall judge the people righteously.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad : let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is.
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it : then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord.
For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth : and with righteousness to judge the world, and the people with his truth.

All stand

Chant: Samuel Wesley (1766–1837)

All sit for the first Lesson, Job 29: 11–16

When the ear heard, it commended me,
   and when the eye saw, it approved;
because I delivered the poor who cried,
   and the orphan who had no helper.
The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
   and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
   my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind,
   and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy,
   and I championed the cause of the stranger.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Canticles in C minor, George Dyson (1883–1964)

All sit for the second Lesson, Philippians 2: 1–13

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Canticles in C minor, George Dyson

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.

The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit

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

O Sovereign God, who didst set thy servant Saint Edward upon the throne of an earthly kingdom and didst inspire him with zeal for the kingdom of heaven; grant that we may so confess the faith of Christ by word and deed, that we may, with all thy saints, inherit thine eternal glory; 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: plainsong

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

He delivered the poor in his affliction,
   the fatherless and him that hath none to help him

   He shall bind up the brokenhearted,
and proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and comfort to those that mourn.
   He shall give them beauty for ashes:
   the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness

For as the earth bringeth forth a bud,
   and as the garden causeth things that are sown to spring forth,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and peace
   to spring forth before all nations.

Words: Job 29: 12; Isaiah 61: 1b, 2b, 3b, 3d, 11
Music: from 'Hear my words, ye people' Hubert Parry (1848–1918)

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 to sing the Hymn

At the name of Jesus
   every knee shall bow,
every tongue confess him
   King of glory now;
'tis the Father's pleasure
   we should call him Lord,
who from the beginning
   was the mighty Word.

At his voice creation
   sprang at once to sight,
all the angel faces,
   all the hosts of light,
thrones and dominations,
   stars upon their way,
all the heavenly orders,
   in their great array.

Humbled for a season,
   to receive a name
from the lips of sinners
   unto whom he came,
faithfully he bore it
   spotless to the last,
brought it back victorious
   when from death he passed:

bore it up triumphant
   with its human light,
through all ranks of creatures,
   to the central height,
to the throne of Godhead,
   to the Father's breast;
filled it with the glory
   of that perfect rest.

In your hearts enthrone him;
   there let him subdue
all that is not holy,
   all that is not true:
he is God the Saviour,
   he is Christ the Lord,
ever to be worshipped,
   trusted, and adored.

Words: 'Ascension Day' Caroline Maria Noel (1817–77)
Tune: 'Evelyns' 338 NEH, William Henry Monk (1823–89)

All remain standing 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, Headteacher, 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.

Hymn covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. 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.