Choral Evensong: May 13, 2021 The Ascension Of Our Lord

Giotto di Bondone (c. 1267-1337)Choral Evensong: May 13, 2021The Ascension of our Lord

Welcome to St. Andrew’s Episcopal ChurchWe are glad you are on this journey with us in this season of all-virtual worship. If we experiencetechnical difficulties during the service, we will pause the service until the issue is resolved and thelivestream has resumed. You are the congregation; there is no worship without you.As we gather for worship together in our different locations, we are making different choices ofhow to participate. Some are standing, sitting, and kneeling as they would in church, and singingwith enthusiasm. Others are participating in silence. Please know that, just as you are welcome to“come as you are” in the physical church, so we hope you will participate here “as you will.”Please join us after the service for a virtual reception on Zoom by clicking on this link:https://zoom.us/j/97702326369?pwd ZitpandhSGRYcURJZmk2bzhrbVFmUT09or by entering this info: Meeting ID: 977 0232 6369 Passcode: 338166We Depend on Your Generous Support!Please remember that though the physical church is closed, our financial needs continue.We are committed to offering ongoing financial support to those in need through our fundamentalpartners in outreach ministry, to paying our staff, maintaining our buildings and grounds, andoffering worship and formation opportunities.Please give generously to support our mission and ministries in one or more of the following ways: Go to the St. Andrew’s website (www.standrewdenver.org) and use the Donate button at thebottom of the page using a credit or debit card. Text to donate: text to 310-582-5828 (For your first text you will have to set up an accountand provide a credit/debit card number. After that it is as easy as texting! Please contactour Treasurer Bob Mosher (bobdmosher@gmail.com) for details on setting this up.) Automatic withdrawal: arrange for a monthly (or any frequency) withdrawal directly fromyour checking account. No need to remember whether you have donated or not. (To setthis up there is a simple form. Contact our Treasurer Bob Mosher (bobdmosher@gmail.com)for details) Mail your check to the church (2015 Glenarm Place, Denver CO 80205)

Choral Evensong: May 13, 2021The Ascension of our LordDerived from the ancient monastic evening offices of Vespers and Compline, Evensong (literally“Evening Song”) is an almost entirely sung service. Thomas Cranmer, the first Anglican Archbishop ofCanterbury, combined the above two Roman Catholic monastic offices into one Anglican lay office,characterized by the chanting of psalms and the singing of the principal canticles from each – the Magnificatfrom Vespers and the Nunc dimittis from Compline. This felicitous pairing, and the mystical atmosphere of achurch at dusk, have fired the imaginations of many of the Anglican Church’s greatest musicians. Please notethat the texts to some of the sung items may differ slightly from what is printed in the modern Book of CommonPrayer, particularly the Suffrages.Numbers preceded by “BCP” are found in the Book of Common Prayer (Black Book)Numbers preceded by “S” are in the front portion of the 1982 Hymnal (Red Book)The Organ Voluntary: Prayer of Christ Ascending to his FatherOlivier Messiaen (1908-1992)Word of WelcomeThe Invitatory and PsalterThe Invitatory: PrecesRichard Ayleward (1626-1669)Officiant O Lord, open thou our lips;ChoirAnd our mouth shall show forth thy praise.Officiant O God, make speed to save us;ChoirO Lord, make haste to help us.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;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.The Canticle of Light: Coelos ascendit hodieCharles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)[Sung in Latin] Today into the heavens has ascended Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, Alleluia! He sitsat the Father’s right hand, and rules heaven and earth, Alleluia! Now have been fulfilled all ofFather David's songs, Now God is with God, Alleluia! He sits upon the royal throne of God, in thishis greatest triumph, Alleluia! Let us bless the Lord: Let the Holy Trinity be praised, let us givethanks to the Lord, Alleluia! Amen.The People sit. All stand when the Choir concludes the psalm with the Gloria Patri (“Glory to the Father ”)The Psalm: 47:1-2, 5-8 Omnes gentes, plaudite; Anglican Chant: Thomas A. Walmisley (1814-1856)1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; * shout to God with a cry of joy.2 For the Lord Most High is to be feared; * he is the great King over all the earth.5 God has gone up with a shout, * the Lord with the sound of the ram’s-horn.6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; * sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is King of all the earth; * sing praises with all your skill.8 God reigns over the nations; * God sits upon his holy throne.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; *As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.The LessonsThe First LessonActs 1:1-11In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning untilthe day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to theapostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by manyconvincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdomof God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for thepromise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized withwater, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore thekingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father hasset by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; andyou will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of theirsight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in whiterobes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw himgo into heaven.’The People stand.The MagnificatHerbert Howells (1892-1983)Evening Service for Gloucester CathedralMy soul doth magnify the Lord, * and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.For he hath regarded * the lowliness of his handmaiden.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 showed strength with his arm; * he hath scattered the proud in the imaginationof 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.

The People sit.The Second LessonLuke 24:49-53And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you havebeen clothed with power from on high.’ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up hishands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried upinto heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they werecontinually in the temple blessing God.The People stand.The Nunc dimittisHerbert HowellsEvening Service for Gloucester CathedralLord, 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. AmenThe People sit.The ReflectionThe People stand.The Apostles’ CreedI 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, died, and was 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 PrayersThe People kneel.The Suffrages & Collects: (sung by the Choir)Richard AylewardOfficiant The Lord be with you;ChoirAnd with thy spirit.Officiant Let us pray:ChoirLord, have mercy on us; Christ, have mercy upon us; Lord have mercy upon us.AllOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come, thy will bedone, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us ourtrespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for everand ever.ChoirAmen.Officiant O Lord, show they mercy upon us;ChoirAnd grant us thy salvation.Officiant O Lord, bless this land:ChoirAnd mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.Officiant Endue thy ministers with righteousness;ChoirAnd make thy chosen people joyful.Officiant O Lord, save thy people:ChoirAnd bless thine inheritance.Officiant Give peace in our time, O Lord;ChoirBecause there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.Officiant O God, make clean our hearts within us;ChoirAnd take not thy Holy Spirit from us.The Collect of the DayOfficiant O Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above allheavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according tohis promise, he abideth with his Church on earth, even unto the end of the ages; throughthe same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,one God, in glory everlasting.ChoirAmen.A Collect for EveningOfficiant O God, who art the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those wholabor, and the repose of the dead: We thank thee for the timely blessings of the day, andhumbly beseech thy merciful protection all the night. Bring us, we pray thee, in safety tothe morning hours; through him who died for us and rose again, thy Son our Savior JesusChrist.ChoirAmen.A Collect for MissionOfficiant Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion inthe way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know thee as thou artrevealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of thy love.ChoirAmen.

The People sit.The Anthem: God is Gone UpGod is gone up with a triumphant shout:The Lord with sounding Trumpets’ melodies:Sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praises out,Unto our King sing praise seraphicwise!Lift up your Heads, ye lasting Doors, they sing,And let the King of Glory enter in.Methinks I see Heaven’s sparkling courtiers fly,In flakes of Glory down him to attend,And hear Heart-cramping notes of MelodySurround his Chariot as it did ascend;Mixing their Music, making ev’ry stringMore to enravish as they this tune sing.Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)Edward Taylor (c. 1646-1729)

The Office Hymn214