Approach
The angels of God guard us through the night,
and quieten the powers of darkness.
The Spirit of God be our guide
to lead us to peace and to glory.
It is but lost labour that we haste to rise up early,
and so late take rest, and eat the bread of anxiety.
For those beloved of God are given gifts even while they sleep.
(silence)
My brothers and sisters,
our help is in the name of the eternal God,
who is making the heavens and the earth.
Dear God,
thank you for all that is good,
for our creation and our humanity,
for the stewardship you have given us of this planet earth,
for the gifts of life and of one another,
for your love which is unbounded and eternal.
O thou, most holy and beloved,
my Companion, my guide upon the way
my bright evening star.
We repent the wrongs we have done:
(silence)
We have wounded your love.
O God, heal us.
We stumble in the darkness.
Light of the world transfigure us.
We forget that we are your home.
Spirit of God, dwell in us.
Eternal Spirit, living God,
in whom we live and move and have our being,
all that we are, have been, and shall be is known to you,
to the very secret of our hearts
and all that rises to trouble us.
Living flame, burn into us,
cleansing wind, blow through us,
fountain of water, well up within us,
that we may love and praise in deed and in truth.
Invocation
Eternal Spirit,
flow through our being and open our lips,
that our mouths may proclaim your praise.
Let us worship the God of love.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Psalm 65
A Version for New Zealand
Praise is your due O God in the holy city,
promises made to you shall be fulfilled;
prayer you always listen to.
You accept all who come to you with shame;
sin would overwhelm us, but you wash it away.
Blest is anyone you choose to live with you;
your house is an inspiration, a hallowed place.
You spread your justice, God our Saviour,
across the world to the farthest oceans.
You have laid down the mountain ranges and set them fast;
you make the seas calm and the sounds peaceful;
you reconcile the peoples who dwell here.
So in this corner of the earth we wonder at your deeds;
at the meeting of east and west we sing your praise.
You water the land and make it flourish,
from your own bursting river.
To provide our crops, you plough and irrigate the land,
softening it with rain to make it fruitful;
a record harvest is achieved, and the stores are overflowing.
The tussock land becomes pasture
and the brown hills turn green;
the paddocks are crowded with sheep
and the plains thick with wheat:
the world itself a canticle of praise.
Reading
It is the God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:6-10
Hymn
Be thou my vision, O Christ of my heart,
Be all else but naught to me save that thou art,
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.
Riches I heed not, nor folk’s empty praise,
Be thou my presence now and always.
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart,
O sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Prayers
Into your hands, O God, I commend my spirit,
for you have redeemed me, O God of truth and love.
Keep me, O God, as the apple of an eye;
hide me under the shadow of your wings.
Preserve us, O God, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep may rest in your peace.
Song of Simeon
Praise be to God, I have lived to see this day.
God’s promise is fulfilled, and my duty done.
At last you have given me peace,
for I have seen with my own eyes
the salvation you have prepared for all nations –
a light to the world in its darkness
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory be to God, sustaining, redeeming, sanctifying,
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever.
Amen.
Preserve us, O God, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep may rest in your peace.
Lord, have mercy.
E te Ariki kia aroha mai.
Kyrie eleison.
Christ, have mercy.
E te Karaiti kia aroha mai.
Christe eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
E te Ariki kia aroha mai.
Kyrie eleison.
The Lord’s Prayer
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
I will lie down in peace and take my rest,
for it is in God alone that I dwell unafraid.
Let us bless the Earth-maker, the Pain-bearer, the Life-giver,
let us praise and exalt God above all for ever.
May God’s name be praised beyond the furthest star,
glorified and exalted above all for ever.
O living God, in Jesus Christ you were laid in the tomb at this evening hour, and so sanctified the grave to be a bed of hope to your people. Give us courage and faith to die daily to our sin and pride, that even as this flesh and blood decays, our lives still may grow in you, that at our last day our dying may be done so well that we live in you for ever. Amen.
Sentence of the Day
The blessing of God, the eternal goodwill of God, the shalom of God, the wildness and the warmth of God, be among us and between us, now and always.
Final Versicle
The divine Spirit dwells in us.
Kia noho te Wairua o te Runga Rawa ki a tatou.
Thanks be to God.
Whakamoemititia a Ihowa.++
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