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Evening Prayer
silence – be still and aware of God’s presence within and around
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Call to prayer
O God, come to our assistance.
O Lord, hasten to help us
O God, grant us a restful night and peace at the last. Amen.
Night hymn
‘Stay with me, remain here with me,
watch and pray, watch and pray.’ (Taize chant)
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Confession and assurance
O most Holy and Beloved,
our Companion, our Guide upon the way,
our bright evening star:
we repent the wrongs we have done.
We have wounded your love.
O God, heal us.
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We stumble in the darkness.
Light of the world transfigure us.
We forget that we are your home.
Spirit of God, dwell in us.
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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,
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to the very secrets of our hearts
and all that rises to trouble us.
Living flame, burn into us,
cleansing wind, blow through us,
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fountain of water, well up within us,
that we may love and praise in deed and in truth.
(Prayer at night, Jim Cotter, 1991)
a time of silence
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We are a forgiven people! Thanks be to God!
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Psalm
Our help is in the name of the Lord;
who made heaven and earth.
Glory to the holy and bless-ed Trinity,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
silence
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Holy wisdom, holy word!
Thanks be to God!
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Prayers
The Lord be with you, and also with you.
Let us pray:
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The collect for Barnabas the Apostle
Bountiful God, giver of all gifts,
who poured your Spirit on your servant Barnabas
and gave him grace to encourage others:
help us by his example,
to be generous in our judgements
and unselfish in our service;
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 for ever. Amen.
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A Francisan blessing
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May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that we may live deep within our hearts.
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May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may wish for justice, freedom, and peace.
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May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.
Benediction
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May the Lord torment us.
May the Lord keep before us the faces of the hungry, the lonely, the rejected and the despised.
May the Lord afflict us with pain for the hurt, the wounded, the oppressed, the abused, the victims of violence.
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May God grace us with agony, a burning thirst for justice and righteousness.
May the Lord give us courage and strength and compassion to make ours a better world, to make our communities better communities, to make our churches better churches.
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And may we do our best to make it so, and after we have done our best, may the Lord grant us peace. Amen.
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Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.
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Night prayers
Day dies away, yet your light shines on in the darkness.
As we pray at the ending of the day, bring our work to a close, and prepare us for rest and peace at the last. Amen.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, comfort the afflicted, shield the joyous and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
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Eternal Spirit, Life Giver, Pain Bearer, Love Maker,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Mother and Father of us all,
loving God, in whom is heaven:
the hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
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The way of your justice be followed by the people 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.
(Prayer at night, Jim Cotter, 1991)
Commendation
In peace we will lie down and sleep.
In the Lord alone we safely rest.
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep we may rest in peace.
May the divine help remain with us always.
and with those who are absent from us.
silence
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Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit,
for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth.
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Canticle of Simeon
Lord, you have now set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
for these eyes of mine have seen the Saviour,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
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a Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to you, O Trinity, most holy and bless-ed; one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Blessing
May the holy and blessed Trinity guard and bless us.
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God!
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This Order is taken from the Order of St Luke of the United Methodist Church, with thanks.
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Compline
Companions of Barnabas
Encouragement in Ministry