Festal Evensong
30th Anniversary of Bradford Cathedral Girls’ Choir
26 June 2022 15.30
Introit I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Song of Solomon 2.3-4 Edward Bairstow (1874-1946)
We stand as the choir and clergy enter.
Hymn Thou art the Christ, O Lord, the Son of God most high: for ever be adored that name in earth and sky, in which, though mortal strength may fail, the saints of God at last prevail. O surely he was blest with blessedness unpriced, who, taught of God, confessed the Godhead in the Christ; for of thy church, Lord, thou didst own thy saint a true foundation-stone. Thrice fallen, thrice restored, the bitter lesson learnt, that heart for thee, O Lord, with triple ardour burnt. The cross he took he laid not down until he grasped the martyr’s crown. O bright triumphant faith, O courage void of fears, O love most strong in death, O penitential tears! By these, Lord, keep us lest we fall, and make us go where thou shalt call. W. Walsham Howe (1823-1897) LOVE UNKNOWN, CP 236
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Welcome The Very Reverend Andy Bowerman, Dean of Bradford We remain standing. Dearly beloved, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with a humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before God; yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul. Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying after me: We kneel or sit. Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
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Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live; and hath given power, and commandment, to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins: he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel. Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do at this present; and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy; so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer 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. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Versicles and Responses
Bernard Rose (1916-1996)
O Lord, open thou our lips: and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise. O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us. We stand. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Praise ye the Lord. The Lord’s name be praised. 4
We sit.
Psalmody
Psalm 60 1 GOD, thou hast cast us out, and scattered us abroad; thou hast also been displeased: O turn thee unto us again. 2 Thou hast moved the land, and divided it: heal the sores thereof, for it shaketh. 3 Thou hast showed thy people heavy things; thou hast given us a drink of deadly wine. 4 Thou hast given a token for such as fear thee, that they may triumph because of the truth. 5 Therefore were thy beloved delivered; help me with thy right hand, and hear me. 6 God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice, and divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver; 8 Moab is my wash-pot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; Philistia, be thou glad of me. 9 Who will lead me into the strong city? who will bring me into Edom? 10 Hast not thou cast us out, O God? wilt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts? 11 O be thou our help in trouble; for vain is the help of man. 12 Through God will we do great acts; for it is he that shall tread down our enemies.
We stand at the end of the Psalm, as the doxology is sung: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. We sit.
Old Testament Reading
Ezekiel 34.11-16
read by the Reverend Canon Philip Gray, Assistant Precentor
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I 5
myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. We stand.
Magnificat
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his hand-maiden. For behold, from henceforth: all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me: and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on them that fear him: throughout all generations. He hath shewed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel: as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. We sit.
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Gospel Reading
John 21.15-22
read by the Reverend Anna Lumb
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ 17He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 20
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’ 21When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about him?’ 22Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’ We stand.
Nunc Dimittis
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. We remain standing.
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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. We kneel or sit.
The Lesser Litany
Bernard Rose (1916-1996)
The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. 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. O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us. And grant us thy salvation. O Lord, save the Queen. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness. And make thy chosen people joyful. O Lord, save thy people. And bless thine inheritance. 8
Give peace in our time, O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God. O God, make clean our hearts within us. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
The Collect of the Day O Almighty God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock; Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for Peace 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.
The Collect for Aid against all Perils 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.
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Anthem All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him for ever. Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of eternity? Who can find out the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth and the deep and wisdom. Wisdom hath been created before all things and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. The word of God most high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting commandments. To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed? or who hath known her wise counsels? There is one wise and greatly to be fear’d, the Lord sitting upon his throne. He created her, and saw her and number’d her, and poured her out upon all his works. She is with all flesh according to his gifts, and he hath given her to them that love him. The fear of the Lord is honour, and glory, and gladness, and a crown of rejoicing. The fear of the Lord maketh a merry, merry heart and bringeth joy and gladness, and a long life. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes: and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law; yea I shall keep it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the way of thy commandments: for therein is my desire. O stablish thy word in thy servant: that I may fear thee. Behold my delight is in thy commandments: O quicken me in thy righteousness. Text: Ecclesiasticus 1.1-6,8-12 and Psalm 119.33-35,38-40 Music: Philip Moore (b. 1943)
Sermon
After an opening prayer, we sit. The Reverend Canon Philip Gray, Assistant Precentor
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Prayers of Intercession The Very Reverend Andy Bowerman, Dean of Bradford These take the form of brief biddings and summary prayers. Please join in with saying Amen at the end of each prayer. The prayers conclude with the Grace: 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. We stand.
Hymn Let saints on earth in concert sing with those whose work is done; for all the servants of our King in earth and heaven are one. One family, we dwell in him, one church, above, beneath; though now divided by the stream, the narrow stream of death. One army of the living God, to his command we bow: part of his host have crossed the flood, and part are crossing now. E’en now to their eternal home there pass some spirits blest; while others to the margin come, waiting their call to rest. Jesu, be thou our constant guide; then, when the word is given, bid Jordan’s narrow stream divide, and bring us safe to heaven. Charles Wesley (1707-1788) DUNDEE, CP 222
The Blessing Please remain kneeling or sitting as the choir and clergy leave. Voluntary
iii) Allegro maestoso e vivace and iv) Fuga: Allegro moderato from Sonata No. 2 – Felix Mendelssohn Op. 65 No. 2 11
Material in this Order of Service is taken from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, copyright © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000 and Common Worship: Times & Seasons, copyright © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2006. Scripture readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (Anglicised Edition) of the Bible, copyright © 1989, 1994 The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Copyright hymns and songs are reproduced under the Christian Copyright Licensing scheme: licence number 3887. This compilation is copyright © 2022 The Chapter of Bradford. 12