KINGTON PARISHES
Sorry that we can’t welcome you in person but a warm welcome if you’re joining us for the live-stream Service.
Celebration of the Paschal Mysteries &
First Eucharist of Easter
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this most holy day, when our Lord Jesus Christ passed over from death to life, the Church invites her children, dispersed throughout the land, to gather in vigil and prayer.
Early in the morning
fearful but faithful,
dubious and doubting
we came to the garden…
we expected only silence
but we heard the voice of angels;
we did not understand
but we found our hope rekindled;
we came to attend to a corpse
But instead we encountered Life!
This is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life. Throughout the world Christians celebrate the awesome power of God. As we hear his word and proclaim all that God has done, we can be confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with him for ever.
The Paschal candle is marked with five grains of incense to represent the five wounds of Christ.
By his holy and glorious wounds may Christ our Lord guard us and keep us.
Christ yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end,
Alpha and Omega,
all time belongs to him,
and all ages;
to him be glory and power,
through every age and for ever. Amen.
The Paschal candle is lit
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds.
The light of Christ.
Thanks be to God
The Exsultet
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
O Universe, dance around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the victorious trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in glory, revealing the splendour of your creation,
radiant in the brightness of your triumphant King!
Christ has conquered! Now his life and glory fill you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Saviour, our Lord of life, shines upon you!
Let all God’s people sing and shout for joy.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The Gloria
Glory to God in the highest,
And peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
The Collect
Lord of all life and power,
Who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
Now and in all eternity.
Amen
Liturgy of the Word
Acts 10: 34-43
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 118: 14-24
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Matthew 28: 1-10
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Matthew
Glory to you, O Lord
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ
Sermon
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, we remember that through the paschal mystery we have been died and buried with him in baptism so that we may rise with him to a new life in the family of the Church. Now that we have completed our observance of Lent, we renew the promises made at our baptism, affirming our allegiance to Christ and our rejection of all that is evil. Therefore, I ask:
Do you turn to Christ? I turn to Christ.
Do you repent of your sins? I repent of my sins.
Do you renounce evil? I renounce evil.
I invite you now to make the profession of Christian faith into which you were baptised, and in which you live and grow.
Do you believe in God the Father, the Creator of all?
I believe and trust in God the Father.
Do you believe in his Son Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World?
I believe and trust in God the Son.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life?
I believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit.
This is the faith of the Church:
This is our faith. We believe and trust in one God, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Intercessions
Jesus, light of the world,
Bring the light and peace of your gospel to the nations
at this very difficult time
Jesus Lord of life,
In your mercy, hear us.
Jesus, bread of life,
Give food to the hungry
And nourish us all with your word,
Jesus, Lord of life,
In your mercy, hear us.
Jesus, our way, our truth, our life,
Be with us and all who follow you in the way.
Deepen our appreciation of your truth
And fill us with your life.
Jesus, Lord of life,
In your mercy hear us.
Jesus, Good Shepherd who gave your life for the sheep,
Recover the straggler,
Bind up the injured
Strengthen the sick
And lead the healthy and strong to new pastures.
Jesus, Lord of life,
In your Mercy, hear us.
Jesus, the resurrection and the life,
We give you thanks for all who have lived and believed in you.
Raise us with them to eternal life.
Jesus, Lord of life,
In your mercy, hear us, accept our prayers,
and be with us always.
Amen
The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said ‘Peace be with you’.
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The peace of the risen Lord be always with you.
And also with you. Alleluia.
The Eucharistic Prayer
We stand in the resurrection garden of God –
a place suffused and shaped by love
and ripe with its potential;
and this is the table of the risen Jesus
a place fashioned and furnished by love
and rich with its promises…
So come –
whether you have seen and believed
or are dubious and doubting still,
whether you confess confidently,
or with a fragile, fearful heart.
Come and share these gifts of grace,
encounter Christ,
and be healed by Love
and transformed by Life.
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation;
in your love you made us for yourself.
When we turned away
you did not reject us,
but came to meet us in your Son.
You embraced us as your children
and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
In Christ you shared our life
that we might live in him and he in us.
He opened his arms of love upon the cross
and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the night he was betrayed,
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his body is the bread of life.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and said:
Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his blood is shed for all.
As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory,
send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine
may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts
make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
With your whole Church throughout the world
we offer you this sacrifice of praise
and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:
Holy, holy, holy, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!
Jesus, Love resurrected,
comes to us now with these signs of healing and hope
calling us onwards into transformation.
Alleluia! With joy we accept them!
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
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 Blessing
God the Father,
By whose love Christ was raised from the dead,
Open to you who believe the gates of everlasting life.
Amen
God the Son,
Who in bursting form the gave has won a glorious victory
Give you joy as you share the Easter faith.
Amen
God the Holy Spirit,
Who filled the disciples with the life of the risen Lord,
Empower and fill you with Christ’s peace.
Amen
And the blessing of God almighty,
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Be among you and remain with you, this Easter Day and always.
Amen
Some of the material used in this service is copyright and has been used with permission:
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included in this service, is copyright The Archbishops’ Council 2000.
This order of service has been produced within the terms of copyright for the use in Saint Mary’s Church, Kington.
For all enquiries please contact: Rev’d Ben Griffith: The Vicarage, Church Road, Kington, HR5 3AG on 01544 230525. Email: vicar@kingtonparishes.org.uk or office@kingtonparishes.org.uk.
St. Mary's, Kington PCC is a registered charity and its number is 1185453. If you would like to make a donation to St. Mary's please visit: https://www.give.net/20273880.