Friday evening August 30

Saturday evening
Thursday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

In the Midst Do Thou Appear

Charles Wesley
           
In the midst do thou appear,
Lord, reveal thy presence here!
Sanctify us now, and bless;
Breathe thy Spirit, give thy peace.

While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts doth still unite,
Sweetly each with each combined
In the bonds of duty joined.

Father, still our faith increase:
Cleanse from all unrighteousness,
Thee the unholy cannot see;
Make, oh make us meet for thee!

Mutual love the token be,
Lord, that we belong to thee,
Only love to us be given,
Lord we ask no other heaven.

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
with all your being, with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 69

Refrain:
Let heaven and earth praise God!

Save me, God,
    because the waters have reached my neck!
I have sunk into deep mud.
    My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;
    the flood has swept me up.
I am tired of crying.
    My throat is hoarse.
    My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.

More numerous than the hairs on my head
    are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,
    those who would destroy me, are countless.
    Must I now give back
    what I didn’t steal in the first place?
God, you know my foolishness;
    my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.

Lord God of heavenly forces!—
    don’t let those who hope in you
        be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—
    don’t let those who seek you
    be disgraced because of me.
I am insulted because of you.
    Shame covers my face.
I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
    an immigrant to my mother’s children.
Because passion for your house has consumed me,
    the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
I wept while I fasted—
    even for that I was insulted.
When I wore funeral clothes,
    people made fun of me.
Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
    drunkards made up rude songs.

But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,
    at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,
    answer me with your certain salvation!
Save me from the mud!
    Don’t let me drown!
    Let me be saved from those who hate me
    and from these watery depths!
Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
    Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!
    Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
    Turn to me in your great compassion!
Don’t hide your face from me, your servant,
    because I’m in deep trouble.
    Answer me quickly!
Come close to me!
    Redeem me!
    Save me because of my enemies!

You know full well the insults I’ve received;
    you know my shame and my disgrace.
    All my adversaries are right there in front of you.
Insults have broken my heart.
    I’m sick about it.
I hoped for sympathy,
    but there wasn’t any;
    I hoped for comforters,
    but couldn’t find any.
They gave me poison for food.
    To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Let the table before them become a trap,
    their offerings a snare.
Let their eyes grow too dim to see;
    make their insides tremble constantly.
Pour out your anger on them—
    let your burning fury catch them.
Let their camp be devastated;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
Because they go after those you’ve already struck;
    they talk about the pain of those you’ve already pierced.
Pile guilt on top of their guilt!
    Don’t let them come into your righteousness!
Let them be wiped out of the scroll of life!
    Let them not be recorded along with the righteous!
And me? I’m afflicted.
    I’m full of pain.
    Let your salvation keep me safe, God!

I will praise God’s name with song;
    I will magnify him with thanks
    because that is more pleasing to the Lord than an ox,
    more pleasing than a young bull with full horns and hooves.
Let the afflicted see it and be glad!
    You who seek God—
    let your hearts beat strong again
    because the Lord listens to the needy
        and doesn’t despise his captives.

Let heaven and earth praise God,
    the oceans too, and all that moves within them!
God will most certainly save Zion
    and will rebuild Judah’s cities
    so that God’s servants can live there and possess it.
The offspring of God’s servants will inherit Zion,
    and those who love God’s name will dwell there.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Let heaven and earth praise God!

Psalm prayer

Thirsting on the cross,
your Son shared the reproach of the oppressed
and carried the sins of all;
in him, O God, may the despairing find you,
the afflicted gain life
and the whole creation know its true king,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 1

After Saul’s death, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed in Ziklag two days. On the third day, a man showed up from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he reached David, he fell to the ground, bowing low out of respect.

“Where have you come from?” David asked him.

“I’ve escaped from the Israelite army!” he answered.

“What’s the report?” David asked him. “Tell me!”

The man answered, “The troops fled from the battle! Many of the soldiers have fallen and died. What’s more, Saul and his son Jonathan have also died!”

“How do you know,” David asked the young man who brought the news, “that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

The young man who brought the news replied, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and Saul was there, leaning on his spear, with chariots and horsemen closing in on him. He turned around and saw me, then he called to me. ‘Yes, sir,’ I answered. ‘Who are you?’ he asked, and I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’ He said to me, ‘Please come over here and kill me, because convulsions have come over me but I’m still alive.’ So I went over to him and killed him, because I knew he couldn’t survive after being wounded like that. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I’ve brought them here to you, my master.”

Then David grabbed his clothes and ripped them—and all his soldiers did the same. They mourned and cried and fasted until evening for Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s army, and the whole house of Israel, because they had died by the sword.

“Where are you from?” David asked the young man who brought him the news.

“I’m the son of an immigrant,” he answered. “An Amalekite.”

Then David said to him, “How is it that you weren’t afraid to raise your hand and destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called for one of the young servants. “Come here!” he said. “Strike him down!” So the servant struck the Amalekite down, and he died.

“Your blood is on your own head,” David said to the Amalekite, “because your own mouth testified against you when you admitted, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

Then David sang this funeral song for Saul and his son Jonathan. David ordered everyone in Judah to learn the Song of the Bow. (In fact, it is written in the scroll from Jashar.)

Oh, no, Israel! Your prince lies dead on your heights.
    Look how the mighty warriors have fallen!
Don’t talk about it in Gath;
        don’t bring news of it to Ashkelon’s streets,
    or else the Philistines’ daughters will rejoice;
    the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
You hills of Gilboa!
    Let there be no dew or rain on you,
    and no fields yielding grain offerings.
Because it was there that the mighty warrior’s shield was defiled—
    the shield of Saul!—never again anointed with oil.
Jonathan’s bow never wavered from the blood of the slain,
    from the gore of the warriors.
        Never did Saul’s sword return empty.
Saul and Jonathan! So well loved, so dearly cherished!
    In their lives and in their deaths they were never separated.
They were faster than eagles,
    stronger than lions!
Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul!
    He dressed you in crimson with jewels;
    he decorated your clothes with gold jewelry.
Look how the mighty warriors have fallen in the midst of battle!
    Jonathan lies dead on your heights.
I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan!
    You were so dear to me!
    Your love was more amazing to me than the love of women.
Look how the mighty warriors have fallen!
    Look how the weapons of war have been destroyed!

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Acts 5:12-26

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. They would come together regularly at Solomon’s Porch. No one from outside the church dared to join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. Indeed, more and more believers in the Lord, large numbers of both men and women, were added to the church. As a result, they would even bring the sick out into the main streets and lay them on cots and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow could fall on some of them as he passed by. Even large numbers of persons from towns around Jerusalem would gather, bringing the sick and those harassed by unclean spirits. Everyone was healed.

The high priest, together with his allies, the Sadducees, was overcome with jealousy. They seized the apostles and made a public show of putting them in prison. An angel from the Lord opened the prison doors during the night and led them out. The angel told them, “Go, take your place in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life.” Early in the morning, they went into the temple as they had been told and began to teach.

When the high priest and his colleagues gathered, they convened the Jerusalem Council, that is, the full assembly of Israel’s elders. They sent word to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. However, the guards didn’t find them in the prison. They returned and reported, “We found the prison locked and well-secured, with guards standing at the doors, but when we opened the doors we found no one inside!” When they received this news, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were baffled and wondered what might be happening. Just then, someone arrived and announced, “Look! The people you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” Then the captain left with his guards and brought the apostles back. They didn’t use force because they were afraid the people would stone them.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy, 
just as he promised to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

National leaders, public officials and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads. 

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Let your merciful ears, O Lord, 
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.  
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

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.