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 Lamentations 3:22–23, 31, 33, 40
It is because of the Lord’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed,
because his compassion doesn’t fail.
They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
For he does not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men.
Let us search and try our ways,
and turn again to the Lord.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Anselm of Canterbury
Lord, I am bowed down and can only look downward; raise me up that I may look upward. My iniquities have gone over my head; they overwhelm me; and, like a heavy load, they weigh me down. Free me from them; unburden me, that the pit of iniquities may not close over me.
Be it mine to look up to your light, even from afar, even from the depths. Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me, when I seek you, for I cannot seek you, except you teach me, nor find you, except you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you in love, and love you in finding
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 16:1–10 · Conserva me, Domine
1Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, *
my good above all other.”
2All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *
upon those who are noble among the people.
3But those who run after other gods *
shall have their troubles multiplied.
4Their libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5O Lord, you are my portion and my cup; *
it is you who uphold my lot.
6My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night.
8I have set the Lord always before me; *
because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *
my body also shall rest in hope.
10For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let your holy one see the Pit.
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 day1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11
Thursday, 19 November 2026 · Ordinary Time
4:13But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 4:15For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 4:16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 4:17then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 4:18Therefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. 5:2For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 5:3For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape. 5:4But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5:5You are all children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness, 5:6so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober. 5:7For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk are drunk in the night. 5:8But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 5:9For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:10who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 5:11Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11 · the short form, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.
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.