Image: from the Great East Window, St Peter Mancroft, Norwich. Mid C 15.

10.00 am Holy Communion (BCP) (Sung)

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Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.

In our own time, the slaughter of innocent lives continues. Millions of children around the world suffer from malnutrition. Countless others are killed in war. Some conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and Gaza, are very familiar to us; others, such as the conflicts in Sudan and Myanmar, are almost forgotten. We sanitize our complicity by using language such as 'collateral damage, whereas, in reality, each dead child represents a life-changing loss. That loss ripples outwards from the unique and irreplaceable life that has been taken, affecting their family, their community and our common humanity. We, too, must refuse to be consoled or to accept easy platitudes. In the face of such loss, we must bring before God our outrage and our heartfelt desire for change.

In all these conflicts, it is the children who suffer most. They are deprived of their homes, their schools, and often their parents and siblings. They lose opportunities for play and, in short, are deprived of their childhood and the security that enables them to grow up in a loving, secure environment.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay.”

Fr A (with acknowledgement RSCM)

Music before the 10.00 service

The Holy Boy John Ireland

Introit Hymn

Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,
and manifest thy virgin-birth:
let every age adoring fall;
such birth befits the God of all.

Begotten of no human will,
but of the Spirit, thou art still
the Word of God, in flesh arrayed,
the promised fruit to man now displayed.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal son to thee,
All glory as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.
Amen
St Ambrose of Milan

Collect

Heavenly Father,
whose children suffered at the hands of Herod,
though they had done no wrong:
by the suffering of your Son
and by the innocence of our lives
frustrate all evil designs
and establish your reign of justice and peace;
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

The Epistle

1 Corinthians 1.26-29

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Gospel

Matthew 2.13-18

13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Cycle of Prayer

Our bishops: David, Mark and Matthew
The Anglican Communion
The Anglican Church of Burundi
Porvoo Communion
Church of England: Diocese of Durham
Church of Norway: Diocese of Oslo

Schools and Colleges
All Saints; St Wilfrid’s; Briscoe Lane Academy;
Christ the King; Co-op Academy Broadhurst;
Oldham Blue Coat; Trinity High School; Bowdoin College, Maine; Churchill College, Cambridge; University of Coventry; Edge Hill University; University of Leeds.

Parish
Assheton Road, Audax Walk, Averill Street, Ballentine Street, Baltimore Walk, Bardsley Street.

Book of Remembrance

Music after Communion

The Coventry Carol

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.
Thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay?”

Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay.”

Arr David Ogden
Sung by St Martin’s Voices

Hymn

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

Refrain:
Hail, thou ever blessed 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! [Refrain]

Say, ye holy shepherds, say,
what's your joyful news today?
Wherefore have ye left your sheep
on the lonely mountain steep? [Refrain]

"As we watched at dead of night,
Lo! we saw a wondrous light;
angels singing 'Peace on earth'
told us of the Savior's birth." [Refrain]

Sacred Infant, all divine,
what a tender love was Thine,
thus to come from highest bliss
down to such a world as this! [Refrain]

Teach, O teach us, Holy Child,
by Thy face so meek and mild,
teach us to resemble Thee,
in Thy sweet humility! [Refrain]

Edward Caswell (1814-1878)
Tune: Humility John Goss (1800-1880)

Voluntary

Little Fugue BVW 578 J.S. Bach

Authorised Version of the Bible and Collects
(Book of Common Prayer, 1662)
© Crown and Cambridge University Press

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