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 Westminster House Youth Club and the work of the Abbey. Since 1888, Westminster House Youth Club has been supporting young people aged 8–18 to make positive life choices, by providing for them purposeful activities, both recreational and educational.

The Commonwealth Nations

On the second Monday in March each year, members of all Commonwealth Nations from around the world come together at the Abbey for the Commonwealth Service, in the presence of the Head of the Commonwealth His Majesty King Charles III, in celebration of both their diversity of culture and common purpose. Throughout the year, and to mark an important national day in the life of each Commonwealth Nation, the Abbey is proud to invite High Commissioners or their representatives and their guests to attend Evensong and to pray for their governments and citizens. Today, the Abbey welcomes the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Nauru on the Independence Day of that realm. The Honorary Consul will read the second lesson.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

Holy is the true light, and passing wonderful, lending radiance to them that endured in the heat of the conflict; from Christ they inherit a home of unfading splendour, wherein they rejoice with gladness evermore. Alleluia!

Words: Antiphon at First Vespers, Feast of All Saints, translated in 'The Diurnal After the Use of the Illustrious Church of Salisbury' by George Herbert Palmer (1846–1926)
Music: William Henry Harris (1883–1973)

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: William Smith (1603–45)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 149

O sing unto the Lord a new song : let the congregation of saints praise him.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him : and let the children of Sion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance : let them sing praises unto him with tabret and harp.
For the Lord hath pleasure in his people : and helpeth the meek-hearted.
Let the saints be joyful with glory : let them rejoice in their beds.
Let the praises of God be in their mouth : and a two-edged sword in their hands;
to be avenged of the heathen : and to rebuke the people;
to bind their kings in chains : and their nobles with links of iron.
That they may be avenged of them, as it is written : Such honour have all his saints.

All stand for

Chant: Percy Whitlock (1903–46)

All sit for the first Lesson, Leviticus 19: 9–28

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling-block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbour. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbour: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbour, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.

You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.

If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave, designated for another man but not ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, since she has not been freed; but he shall bring a guilt-offering for himself to the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as guilt-offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of guilt-offering before the Lord for his sin that he committed; and the sin he committed shall be forgiven him.

When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall regard their fruit as forbidden; for three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all their fruit shall be set apart for rejoicing in the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that their yield may be increased for you: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practise augury or witchcraft. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

The Third Service, William Byrd (c 1540–1623)

All sit for the second Lesson, Romans 15: 1–7

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbour for the good purpose of building up the neighbour. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.' For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

The Third 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.

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

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; 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: William Smith

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Alma Redemptoris mater quae pervia caeli porta manes et stella maris, succurre cadenti surgere qui curat populo: tu quae genuisti, natura mirante, tuum sanctum genitorem: virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud ave, peccatorum miserere.

Kind mother of the Redeemer, the open gateway to heaven and star of the sea, help your fallen people who strive to rise again: we pray you, who bore your holy Son by a miracle of nature, a virgin first and last, who received God's greeting from the mouth of Gabriel, have mercy on sinners.

Words: attributed to Hermann of Reichenau (1013–54)
Music: Helen Neeves

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

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.

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.