We hear God's CALL TO WORSHIP in Hosea 6:1,3
Come, and let us return to the Lord, for he will heal us.
As surely as the sun rises,
the Lord will appear.
He will come to us like the rain,
like the spring rain that waters the earth.
We listen in silence for God's still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God's presence within us and around us
We respond to God with ADORATION using the words of the Song of Creation (Benedicite, omnia opera Domini)
Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord,
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew,
all winds and fire and heat.
Winter and summer, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,
drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O nights and days,
O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Let the earth glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills,
and all that grows upon the earth,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O springs of water, seas, and streams,
O whales and all that move in the waters.
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O beasts of the wild,
and all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Let the people of God glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O priests and servants of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Matthew 3:2
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of the Leonine Sacramentary
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and always give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things that our conscience is afraid of, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Zechariah 7:9-10
The Lord of hosts says:
Execute true judgments. Show kindness and mercy to each other. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the resident foreigner or the poor. Let none of you devise evil against another in your hearts.
We PRAISE God in the INVITATORY PSALM, the VenitePsalm 95:1-7 · Venite, exultemus
1O come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it; *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 44:1–8 · Deus, auribus
1We have heard with our ears, O God, our forefathers have told us, *
the deeds you did in their days, *
in the days of old.
2How with your hand you drove the peoples out and planted our forefathers in the land; *
how you destroyed nations and made your people flourish.
3For they did not take the land by their sword, nor did their arm win the victory for them; *
but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance, *
because you favored them.
4You are my King and my God; *
you command victories for Jacob.
5Through you we pushed back our adversaries; *
through your Name we trampled on those who rose up against us.
6For I do not rely on my bow, *
and my sword does not give me the victory.
7Surely, you gave us victory over our adversaries *
and put those who hate us to shame.
8Every day we gloried in God, *
and we will praise your Name for ever.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of Origen of Alexandria
We call upon God through Jesus Christ, that he who is the truth of God would shed light into our hearts and scatter the darkness of error; and we offer as our prayer the words of the prophet: "Destroy error by your truth." Amen.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayNumbers 13:25–14:9
Sunday, 22 February 2026 · Ordinary Time
13:25They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. 13:26They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them and to all the congregation. They showed them the fruit of the land. 13:27They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 13:28However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. 13:29Amalek dwells in the land of the South. The Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country. The Canaanite dwells by the sea, and along the side of the Jordan.”
13:30Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let’s go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!”
13:31But the men who went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” 13:32They brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people who we saw in it are men of great stature. 13:33There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
14:1All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 14:2All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness! 14:3Why does the LORD bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be captured or killed! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return into Egypt?” 14:4They said to one another, “Let’s choose a leader, and let’s return into Egypt.”
14:5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
14:6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes. 14:7They spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 14:8If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us: a land which flows with milk and honey. 14:9Only don’t rebel against the LORD, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us. Their defence is removed from over them, and the LORD is with us. Don’t fear them.”
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Numbers 13:25–14:9 · the short form, Numbers 14:6–9.
We REFLECT in silence
We greet the day with THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH, the Benedictus Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
We pray the LORD'S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us
Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of John Bradford
Let your mighty hand and outstretched arm, Lord,
be still our defense;
your mercy and loving kindness in Jesus Christ your dear Son,
our salvation;
your true and holy Word,
our instruction;
your grace and Holy Spirit,
our comfort and consolation
unto the end, and in the end.
Amen
We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER
Followed by
Amen
We pray a PRAYER FOR UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE
God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING in the words of Hubert Louis Simpson
We thank you for the good things of this life: for food and clothing and shelter; for work to do and zest in the doing of it. We thank you for the perpetual touch of the divine in life, for the image of yourself in the human soul; for the vigor of youth, the wisdom of age, and for all the lessons of experience; the steps by which we climb to higher things; for the courage of the brave, the indignation of the righteous, the kindness of the thoughtful, and all that makes us human and keeps us Godlike.
Amen.
A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.
Amen.