Midnight Mass

Welcome

A warm welcome to the parish church of All Saints with Holy Trinity. A special welcome if you are a visitor and staying with family and friends over this festive season, we hope you are able to feel at home. The stewards wearing rainbow lanyards, will be happy to help you.

If you receive communion in any church you are welcome to receive the bread and wine here. If you need a gluten free wafer or wish to receive communion in your seat please let one of the stewards know.

Our worship this evening brings to an end the waiting and preparation of Advent and marks the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas. To mark this special night incense is used which is an ancient symbol of prayer. The choir will sing parts of the service for us, please join in the carols and add your voice to theirs.

Children are always welcome in church and we understand that they do not always find it easy to be quiet! Please move around as you need to with them and if toddlers need a wander that is fine as long as they remain under your supervision. Church buildings are great places to explore but please be mindful of uneven floors, sharp edges and candles.

We are part of the Inclusive Church network and as such we seek to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.

We are a work in progress and welcome anyone who wishes to journey with us.

 The Gathering

The service will begin with the church in darkness apart from the lights of the Christmas Trees. The choir sings Silent Night and then these words are spoken

Welcome all wonders in one sight!

Eternity shut in a span,

Summer in winter, day in night,

heaven in earth and God in man.

Great little one whose all-embracing birth

brings earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth.

Processional Hymn

During this hymn the servers and ministers process and the altar-table is censed.

O little town of Bethlehem,

how still we see thee lie!

above thy deep and dreamless sleep

the silent stars go by:

yet in thy dark streets shineth

the everlasting Light;

the hopes and fears of all the years

are met in thee tonight.

O morning stars, together

proclaim the holy birth,

and praises sing to God the King,

and peace to men on earth.

For Christ is born of Mary;

and, gathered all above,

while mortals sleep, the angels keep

their watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silently,

the wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

the blessings of his heaven.

No ear may hear his coming;

but in this world of sin,

where meek souls will receive him, still

the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy

pray to the blessèd Child,

Where misery cries out to thee,

Son of the mother mild;

Where charity stands watching

And faith holds wide the door,

The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,

And Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,

descend to us, we pray;

cast out our sin, and enter in:

be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels

the great glad tidings tell:

O come to us, abide with us,

our Lord Emmanuel .

The Greeting

Grace, mercy and peace

from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ

be with you.

and also with you.

We sit as an informal welcome is given

Prayers of Penitence

Christ the light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts.

In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.

Silence is kept

God our Father,

you sent your Son full of grace and truth:

forgive our failure to receive him.

Lord, have mercy,

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus our Saviour,

you were born in poverty and laid in a manger:

forgive our greed and rejection of your ways.

Christ have mercy,

Christ have mercy,

Spirit of Love,

your servant Mary responded joyfully to your call:

forgive the hardness of our hearts.

Lord, have mercy,

Lord, have mercy,

The choir sing a setting of Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy) before the president says the prayer of absolution.

May God of all healing and forgiveness

draw you to himself

and cleanse you from all your sins,

that you may behold the glory of his Son,

the Word made flesh,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Gloria in Excelsis

We stand as the choir sings a setting of this ancient hymn of praise

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

Let us pray in the peace of this Christmas celebration that our joy in the birth of Christ will last for ever.

Silence is kept

Eternal God,

who made this most holy night

to shine with the brightness of your one true light:

bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth,

to see the radiance of your heavenly glory;

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.

The Liturgy of the Word

A Reading from the Book of Isaiah

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
    on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with joy at the harvest,
    as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
    and the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor,
    you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For all the boots of the tramping warriors
    and all the garments rolled in blood
    shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
    a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
    and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
    and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
    He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. “I will be his Father,

Here ends the reading

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Please stand for the sung Alleluia as the Gospel book is carried to the front of church from where it will be proclaimed. 

Alleluia! Your words, O Lord,

Are spirit and life.

Alleluia! Open our hearts to your word.

Alleluia! Your words, O Lord,

Are spirit and life.

Alleluia! Open our hearts to your word.

Today a Saviour is born who is Christ the Lord

God’s Word is with us and lives among us within our world.

Alleluia! Your words, O Lord,

Are spirit and life.

Alleluia! Open our hearts to your word.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

The gospel book is censed a symbol of how important the words about Jesus are to us.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

The acclamation is sung again.

Alleluia! Your words, O Lord,

Are spirit and life.

Alleluia! Open our hearts to your word.

We sit after the preacher offers an introductory prayer.

Sermon

After the sermon there is a brief pause for reflection and then all stand to affirm the faith of the church.

The Apostles’ Creed

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,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come 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 of Intercession

All sit or kneel for the prayers. In the prayers the following response is used

Holy God

hear our prayer.

The Liturgy of the Sacrament

The Peace

This holy night the angels sang, ‘Glory to god in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.’

 The peace of the Lord be always with you

and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace

Members of the congregation turn to one another and greet their neighbours by saying ‘peace be with you’ and making a sign of peace.

Offertory Hymn

Bread and wine are brought forward and the altar table is prepared. The president takes the bread and wine and says a prayer as she receives them. The gifts and altar-table are then censed followed by the ministers and the congregation, a visual reminder that we are all God’s people. The president’s hands are then washed a symbol of our collective desire to come together at the Lord’s table with pure hearts and minds.

See, amid the winter's snow,
born for us on earth below,
see, the Lamb of God appears,
promised from eternal years!

Hail, thou ever-blessèd morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Lo, within a manger lies
he who built the starry skies,
he who, throned in height sublime,
sits amid the cherubim! 

Say, ye holy shepherds, say
what your joyful news today;
wherefore have ye left your sheep
on the lonely mountain steep? 

‘As we watched at dead of night,
lo, we saw a wondrous light;
angels, singing “Peace on earth,”
told us of a Saviour's birth’

Sacred infant, all divine,
what a tender love was thine,
thus to come from highest bliss
down to such a world as this! 

The Eucharistic Prayer

The prayer is intoned using a chant that has its origins in the early centuries of the life of the church. The choir will lead the sung responses, please join in if you wish. 

The priest continues the prayer praising God for His mighty acts and then the choir sings these words 

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

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.

The priest recalls the Last Supper and then this acclamation is sung by the choir

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died:

Christ is risen:

Christ will come again.

The prayer continues leading into the final words of praise

…… through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all honour and glory are yours, O loving Father,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

We kneel or sit and observe a period of silence

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, we use whichever language is closest to our hearts to pray as our Saviour has taught us,

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.

Breaking of the Bread

We break the bread of life,

and that life is the light of the world.

God here among us,

light in the midst of us,

bring us to light and life.

The choir sings a setting of the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) while the priest breaks the remaining consecrated bread 

Giving of Communion

The president gives an invitation to communion.

Christ is the true bread which has come down from heaven.

Lord, give us this bread always.

The choir come forwards to receive communion first and then the stewards will invite the rest of the congregation. Please come forward when directed by the stewards. Christians of any church tradition are welcome to receive the bread and wine including children who have been admitted to communion, here or at another church. Alternatively you can come forward for a prayer of blessing, please indicate if this is your wish by crossing your arms across your chest.

As we share communion, the choir will sing the anthem A maiden most gentle, French trad melody arr. Andrew Carter . We all join in the carol that follows.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, 

the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head; 

the stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,

the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. 

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, 

but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.

I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky, 

and stay by my side until morning is nigh. 

Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay 

close by me for ever, and love me, I pray. 

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, 

and fit us for heaven, to live with thee there. 

Prayer after Communion

Silence is kept before this prayer is said

God our Father,

in this night you have made known to us again

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

confirm our faith and fix our eyes on him

until the day dawns and Christ the Morning Star rises in our hearts.

To him be glory both now and for ever.

Amen.

The Dismissal

The Blessing

We stand for the president to give the blessing

May the joy of the angels,

the eagerness of the shepherds,

the perseverance of the wise men,

the obedience of Joseph and Mary,

and the peace of the Christ-child

be yours this Christmas;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

Final Hymn

As we sing, the final candle on the Advent wreath is lit.

O come, all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
come and behold him
born the King of Angels:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord!

God of God,

Light of light,

lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;

very God,

begotten, not created;

Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above;
glory to God,
in the highest;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord!

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
born this happy morning,
Jesu, to thee be glory giv’n;
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing:

Go in peace. Proclaim the Word made flesh.

Glory, thanks and praise to God.

Please remain standing in your seats until the ministers have passed by and then sit to enjoy the music leaving when you are ready.

The clergy, choir and church wardens of All Saints wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for coming to celebrate with us tonight. If you would like to make a donation towards the ongoing presence of this historic church in the life of our town you can do so via cash or card as you leave or use the link here. Thank you for your generosity.