Welcome to this year’s Advent Carol Service. The members of the clergy, Nicholas, Charles and Tony, recorded their parts of this service in St Bartholomew, Burstow.
If you would like to follow the service in one go, click on the bar below. The words can be found as you scroll down:
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A reading of ‘O Emmanuel’ by Malcolm Guite (Revd Charles Sargent)
The hymn ‘O come, O come Emmanuel’ is sung
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou rod of Jesse,
Free thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou key of David,
Come and open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the Law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The blessing of the light (Revd Charles Sargent)
Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe,
eternal creator of light and darkness.
In this season of Advent, when the sun’s light
is swallowed up by the growing darkness of the night,
you renew your promise to reveal among us
the splendour of your glory, made flesh
and visible to us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Through the prophets you teach us
to hope for his reign of peace.
Through the outpouring of his Spirit,
you open our blindness to the glory of his presence.
Strengthen us in our weakness;
support us in our stumbling efforts to do your will,
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
For to you all honour and blessing are due,
now and for ever. Amen.
The Choir sings the anthem ‘O Thou the Central Orb’
(Words by HR Bramley, 1833-1917; music by Charles Wood, 1866-1926)
Sung by the choirs of the Windmill United Benefice at St Mary’s, Horne on Advent Sunday 2019
Bidding and Introduction (Revd Nicholas Calver)
As we enter into this solemn season of Advent, looking forward to the birth of the Christ child, let us renew in ourselves that vision of God’s perfect kingdom which is the end of all our strivings and the consummation of God’s loving purposes for us.
In prayer, praise and song do we give voice to the hope set forth in the Scriptures, that his kingdom shall come; and, as we prepare for that day to dawn upon us from on high, so we commend ourselves and the whole human family to his keeping. May he guide us into the way of peace, give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and kindle in us the fire of his love.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
The hymn ‘Come thou long expected Jesus’ is sung
Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver;
Born a child and yet a king;
Born to reign in us for ever;
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thy own eternal Spirit,
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to thy glorious throne.
The Advent Collect (Revd Dr Tony Rich)
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ
came to us in great humility: so that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
Ministry of the Word
A reading of Genesis 28: 10-17
Jacob’s dream of heaven
Read by Jose Case Green
A reading of Isaiah 52: 7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger
Read by Bob Bond
The Choir sings the anthem ‘How lovely are the messengers’
(Mendelssohn, 1809-1847, with words from Romans 10 vv 15 and 18)
Recorded remotely for this service by members of the Benefice choirs and mixed together by Peter Nye
A reading of Mark 13: 24 to the end
The Son of Man will come in glory
Read by Rosie Yeldham
Sermon (Revd Nicholas Calver)
Advent Liturgy (Revd Dr Tony Rich)
All sing:
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart!
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of your kingdom. Help us to live in the light of your coming and give us a longing for your rule.
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart!
Lord Jesus, you come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness. By your grace make us trustworthy and true, so that we may be found worthy of your praise.
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart!
Lord Jesus, you will come in glory with salvation for your people. May we be ready to meet you with a joyful love and a firm faith.
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart!
Finally, we remember all who have gone before us with the sign of faith, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we offer up our prayers for the coming of his kingdom, in the words he himself has taught us, saying:
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.
The Choir sings the anthem ‘O God you search me’
(A setting of Psalm 139 by Bernadette Farrell, b. 1957)
Recorded remotely for this service by members of the Benefice choirs and mixed together by Peter Nye
The final blessing (Revd Charles Sargent)
Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,
scatter the darkness from before your path,
and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
And may the Lord when he comes find us watching and waiting,
now and at all times. Amen.
The hymn ‘Lo he comes’ is sung
Lo, he comes with clouds descending,
once for mortal sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of his train.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ appears on earth to reign.
Ev’ry eye shall now behold him
robed in dreadful majesty;
We who set at naught and sold him,
pierced and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.
Those dear tokens of his passion
still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
to his ransomed worshippers:
With what rapture, with what rapture,
with what rapture gaze we on those glorious scars!
Yea, amen, let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Saviour, take the pow’r and glory,
claim the kingdom for thine own.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
Organist: Peter Nye
The Promise of His Glory, material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England and used by permission.