St Clement Outwell   

The Commemoration of the 
Faithful Departed

(All Souls)

Tuesday 2nd November 2004
7.30 pm

Please feel free to take this Order of Service away with you

On behalf of  our two parishes, Upwell St Peter and St Clement’s Outwell, we offer you a warm welcome here this evening for this special service where we give thanks for the lives of all those who have ever lived, and especially for those dear to us.  

The Commemoration of All Souls is an ancient observance of the Church.  It was used for over a thousand years.  For a time the Church of England stopped keeping the day, but with the revision of our Church’s worship into modern format All Souls Day has been restored.  

Our service is designed to be quiet and reflective as we remember those of our families and friends who have died, whilst at the same time affirming that they and all the departed are not forgotten but are still known to, loved by and cared for by God.  And one day we shall be reunited with them.

Please join in the hymns, and in all the responses printed in bold type.

Alan.
2nd November 2004

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 
FAITHFUL DEPARTED

THE PREPARATION
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you
All    and also with you.

The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
All	Let us rejoice and sing God’s praise for ever.

The minister says
We have come together in the name of Christ
to offer our praise and thanksgiving,
to hear and receive God’s holy word,
to pray for the needs of the world,
and to seek the forgiveness of our sins,
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to the service of God.

HYMN 755:  Ye holy angels bright

Minister
	We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal. 
	God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the 
knowledge of his glory in the face of Christ. But we have this 
treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
	As we acknowledge our human frailty, we call to mind our sins of word, deed and omission, and confess them before God our 
Father.

Silence is kept.

Jesus says, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ,
confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
All	Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy
forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, 
love mercy, 
and walk humbly with you, our God. 
Amen.

Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness
and keep you in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE COLLECT

Let us pray for the peace and well-being of the whole Church.
(A short silence is kept.)

Heavenly Father,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have given us a true faith and a sure hope.
Strengthen this faith and hope in us all our days,
that we may live as those who believe in
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
and the resurrection to eternal life;
through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The day is almost over, and the evening has come;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your Spirit come down upon us
to set us free to sing your praise
for ever and ever. 
All	Amen.

THE WORD OF GOD
Psalm 84
(Traditionally we observe a brief pause at the * in the Psalms and Canticles) 

1	How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the 
1	Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2	2 	The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young: *
at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
3	3 	Blessed are they who dwell in your house: *
they will always be praising you.
4	4 	Blessed are those whose strength is in you, *
in whose heart are the highways to Zion,
5	5 	Who going through the barren valley find there a spring *
and the early rains will clothe it with blessing.
6	6 	They will go from strength to strength *
and appear before God in Zion.
7 	O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
listen, O God of Jacob.
7	8 	Behold our defender, O God, *
and look upon the face of your anointed.
8	For one day in your courts *
is better than a thousand.
10	I would rather be a doorkeeper in the 
house of my God *
than dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
11 	For the Lord God is both sun and shield;
	he will give grace and glory; *
no good thing shall the Lord withhold 
	from those who walk with integrity.
12 	O Lord God of hosts, *
blessed are those who put their trust in you.

	Glory to the Father and to the Son
	and to the Holy Spirit;
	as it was in the beginning is now
	and shall be for ever.  Amen.

First Reading

Lamentations 3, 17-26, 31-33

 After the reading the reader says

This is the word of the Lord.
All	Thanks be to God.

New Testament Canticle

1	Blessed be the God and Father *
	of our Lord Jesus Christ!
2	By his great mercy we have been born anew 
	to a living hope *
	through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

3	Into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, *
	kept in heaven for you,

4	Who are being protected by the power of God
	through faith for a salvation, *
	ready to be revealed in the last time.

5	You were ransomed from the futile ways of your ancestors *
	not with perishable things like silver or gold

6	But with the precious blood of Christ *
	like that of a lamb without spot or stain.

7	Through him we have confidence in God,
	who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, *
	so that your faith and hope are set on God.

	Glory to the Father and to the Son: 
	and to the Holy Spirit;
	as it was in the beginning is now: 
	and shall be for ever.  Amen.

Second Reading
Romans 5, 5-11
 
At the end the reader says
This is the word of the Lord.
All	Thanks be to God.

Gospel Canticle
Magnificat

1	My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
			my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *
	he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

2	From this day all generations will call me blessed; *
	the Almighty has done great things for me
			and holy is his name. 

3	He has mercy on those who fear him, *
	from generation to generation. 

4	He has shown strength with his arm *
	and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

5	Casting down the mighty from their thrones *
	and lifting up the lowly. 

6	He has filled the hungry with good things *
	and sent the rich away empty. 

7	He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, *
	to remember his promise of mercy, 

8	The promise made to our ancestors, *
	to Abraham and his children for ever.

	Glory to the Father and to the Son
	and to the Holy Spirit;
	as it was in the beginning is now
	and shall be for ever.  Amen. 

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Glory and honour and power:
are yours by right, O Lord our God;
For you created all things:
and by your will they have their being.

Glory and honour and power:
are yours by right, O Lamb who was slain:
For by your blood you have ransomed for God
a kingdom of priests from every race and language,
from every people and nation. 

The names of those to be remembered are read aloud, beginning with those who have died in the past year. Silence will be kept after all the names have been read.. As we start reading the names you are invited to bring your 
candle and place it in the tray.

This is the will of him that sent me
that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,
and I will raise them up at the last day. 

Lord God, creator of all,
you have made us creatures of this earth,
but have also promised us a share in life eternal.
According to your promises,
may all who have died in the peace of Christ
share with your saints in the joy of heaven
where there is neither sorrow nor pain,
but life everlasting.
Alleluia! 		Amen. 

Grant to us, Lord God,
to trust you not for ourselves alone,
but for those also whom we love
and who are hidden from us by the shadow of death;
that, as we believe your power to have raised
our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead,
so may we trust your love to give eternal life
to all who believe in him;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. 		Amen.

Hear us, O merciful Father,
as we remember in love
those whom we have placed in your hands.
Acknowledge, we pray, the sheep of your own fold,
lambs of your own flock,
sinners of your own redeeming.
Enfold them in the arms of your mercy,
in the blessed rest of everlasting peace,
and in the glorious company of the saints in light. 
		Amen. 

Minister
May God in his infinite love and mercy bring the whole Church, living and departed in the Lord Jesus, to a joyful resurrection and the 
fulfilment of his eternal kingdom. 
Amen. 

THE LORD'S PRAYER 
As our Saviour has taught us, in faith and trust 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 for ever. 	Amen. 

THE CONCLUSION

HYMN  323 In heavenly love abiding

THE DISMISSAL

May God give to you and to all those whom you love
his comfort and his peace,
his light and his joy,
in this world and the next;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always. 		Amen. 

Minister 
Neither death nor life
can separate us from the love of God
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Thanks be to God. 

The ministers and people depart. 

____________________________________________________
Material from The Promise of His Glory is copyright © Central Board of Finance of the Church of England 1990, 1991.  Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops' Council 2000.  This compilation copyright © The Revd Alan F. Jesson and PCC of St Clement’s Church Outwell, 2004.