S T .

T H O M A S ’ C AT H E D R A L
MUMBAI
Established 1718

The Church of North India

A member of the worldwide Anglican Communion

Ash Wednesday
The Holy Eucharist
for the Beginning of Lent
with imposition of ashes

Wednesday 14th February 2024 ● 6.30 pm

 Welcome to St Thomas’ Cathedral for this service

ASH WEDNESDAY

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of fasting,
prayer, self-examination and preparation for the Easter Feast. The imposition of
ashes is an ancient sign of repentance and serves as a reminder of our mortality.
As God said to Adam, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” As we are
marked with ashes on our foreheads in the same manner that we are signed with
the cross at Baptism, we are reminded that we are marked as Christ’s own for-
ever in a visible way

The congregation is asked to join in all text printed in bold.

Do not leave this service booklet behind. Take it home with you to reflect on the
prayers and readings and as a reminder of your visit.

This order of service is printed on sustainably-produced paper. Worship material has been
drawn from the Book of Common Prayer; and https://www.churchofengland.org. Some mate-
rial in this service is copyright: Common Worship © 2000 The Archbishops’ Council and
Common Worship.

Bank details to make your online offering and payment of subscription.

Name: Society of St Thomas’ Cathedral
Account no.: 917010054452406 Bank: Axis Bank Ltd
IFSC code: UTIB0000004 Branch: Fort, Mumbai - 400 001

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 Order of Service
The Gather ing
Voluntary
“Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ”
(“I call to you, O Jesus Christ”), BWV 639 … … Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685 - 1750

All keep silence and prepare for worship.

All STAND as the Procession enters.
Psalm 51
The verses are intoned by the cantors.
All join in the response.

The sacrifice of God, is a broken spirit.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness;

according to the abundance of your compassion blot out my offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin. Response
For I acknowledge my faults
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight. Response

Make me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence
and take not your holy Spirit from me. Response
Continued

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O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Response The sacrifice of God, is a broken spirit.

Please be SEATED

The Presbyter introduces the liturgy

Presbyter In the name of the † Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.
All Amen.
The Lord be with you
and also with you.

Dear friends in Christ,

since early days Christians have observed
with great devotion
the time of our Lord’s passion
and resurrection and prepared for this by a season of penitence and fasting.

By carefully keeping these days,

we take to heart the call to repentance
and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel,
and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church,

to the observance of a holy Lent,
by self-examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.

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While seated or kneeing, all sing Kyrie eleison

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Setting by John Merbecke, c. 1510 - c. 1585

The Liturgy of the Word

The Collect for Ash Wednesday | Page 357

Read by the Presbyter

Old Testament Reading | Page 357

Joel 2:12 - 17
A reading from the Book of Joel.
At the conclusion of the reading:
This is the word of the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.

The Epistle | Page 358

James 4:1 - 10
A reading from the Letter of James.
At the conclusion of the reading:
This is the word of the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.

All STAND and join in singing the gradual hymn

Gradual Hymn | # 369

Be thou my Guardian and my Guide Tune: ABRIDGE

Remain STANDING for the Gospel

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 The Gospel of Christ | Page 359
St Matthew 6:16 - 21

The Gospeller The Lord be with you

All and with thy spirit

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Matthew.

All Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

At the end of the Gospel:

The Gospeller This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
All Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

Remain STANDING for the Creed, all reciting together.

The Nicene Creed | Page 265

Please be SEATED.
Homily
The Revd Avinash Rangayya

The Liturgy of Penitence

The Presbyter says
Let us now call to mind our sin and the infinite mercy of God.

Kneel or remain seated

The Litany

Intercessor Let us pray

God the Father,
All have mercy upon us.
God the Son,
have mercy upon us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy upon us.
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Intercessor Holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity,
All have mercy upon us.
From all evil and mischief;
from pride, vanity, and hypocrisy;
from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all evil intent,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From sloth, worldliness, and love of money;
from hardness of heart and contempt for your word and
your laws,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From sins of body and mind;
from the deceits of the world,
the flesh and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
In all times of sorrow;
in all times of joy;
in the hour of death, and at the day of judgement,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By the mystery of your holy incarnation;
by your birth, childhood, and obedience;
by your baptism, fasting, and temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By your ministry in word and work;
by your mighty acts of power;
and by your preaching of the Kingdom,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By your agony and trial;
by your cross and passion;
and by your precious death and burial,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By your mighty resurrection;
by your glorious ascension;
and by your sending of the Holy Spirit
Good Lord, deliver us.

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 Give us true repentance;
forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance
and our deliberate sins;
and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit
to amend our lives
according to your holy word.

Seated or kneeing, all sing The Trisagion

Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

Presbyter Make our hearts clean, O God;

All and renew a right spirit within us.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,

we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.

The Imposition of Ashes

Presbyter Dear friends in Christ,
I invite you to receive these ashes
as a sign of the spirit of penitence
with which we shall keep this season of Lent.
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 God our Father,
you create us from the dust of the earth:
grant that these ashes may be for us
a sign of our penitence and a symbol of our mortality;
for it is by your grace alone
that we receive eternal life in Jesus Christ our Saviour.
All Amen.

Before the imposition, the presbyter says

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.

Those desiring to receive the imposition of ashes proceed to the chancel steps

At this time the choir sings

We rise again from ashes, We offer you our failures,

from the good we’ve failed to do. we offer you attempts,
We rise again from ashes, the gifts not fully given,
to create ourselves anew. the dreams not fully dreamt.
If all our world is ashes, Give our stumblings direction,
then must our lives be true, give our visions wider view
an offering of ashes, an offering of ashes
an offering to you. an offering to you.

Thanks be to the Father,

who made us like Himself.
Thanks be to the Son,
who saved us by his death.
Thanks be to the Spirit,
who creates the world anew
from an offering of ashes,
an offering to you.

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The imposition of ashes concludes with the Presbyter praying

God our Father;

the strength of all who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers;
and because, in our weakness,
we can do nothing good without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in keeping your commandments
we may please you, both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.

The Liturgy of the Sacrament

All STAND

The Peace
The Celebrant offers a greeting of peace

Since we are justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has given us access to his grace.

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 greet one another.
Remain standing to sing the offertory hymn.

At this time the altar is set with the gifts of bread and wine and the
gifts of the people are gathered and presented. Thank you for your generosity.

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 Hymn at the Offertory | # 87

Saviour, when in dust to thee Tune: ABERYSTWYTH

See inside front cover for bank details to make your offering.

All say Offertory Prayer | page 270

Please be SEATED.

T h e C o n s e c r a t i o n | Page 277
T h e C o m m u n i o n | Page 284
While seated, all join in singing the hymn.

H y m n a t t h e C o m m u n i o n | # 327

Once, only once, and once for all Tune: ALBANO

Prayer after Communion

All STAND and say.

God of our pilgrimage,

you have fed us with the bread of heaven.
Refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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 The Blessing
The Presbyter
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him;
And the blessing of God almighty,
† the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.

All join in singing the hymn at the closing.

Hymn at the Closing | # 99

Glory be to Jesus Tune: CASWALL (# 315)

From the West Door, the Presbyter says: The Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

All In the name of Christ. Amen.

Postlude
“Beloved Jesus”, No. 2 Op. 122 … … Johannes Brahms, 1833 - 1897

ST. THOMAS’ CATHEDRAL

3 Veer Nariman Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400 001
Presbyter-In-Charge: The Revd. Avinash T. Rangayya
Telephone: (Vestry) 2283 9783, (R) 2207 1275, 98207 50090
Contact the Presbyter for pastoral visits and administering Communion to the house-bound.
FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. PLEASE SHARE THIS SERVICE BOOKLET WITH A FIREND.
Website http://stthomascathedralmumbai.com
Subscribe to the Cathedral’s YouTube channel

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