Please join us on the evening of All Saints’ Day, November 1st @ 6:30pm, for Choral Evensong, a sacred service of sung evening prayer. Because All Saints’ Day is one of the principal feasts of the church year, we will mark this special day with this special form of worship. Although the choir will lead most of the liturgy, you are invited to join your hearts just as you do while the deacon leads the Prayers of the People in our Sunday liturgy and to pray with us. There will be times for you to join in the spoken prayers as well as the congregational hymn. Together, let’s lift our hearts to the Lord and offer the glory due his name.
---
New to Choral Evensong? Worship Leader Matt Wolchak explains the history and beauty of this service below:
Choral Evensong is essentially Evening Prayer as found in The Book of Common Prayer but led primarily by a choir. When Thomas Cranmer set out to codify the Church of England’s common worship into the BCP and make the monastic Divine Office more accessible to the lay faithful, he consolidated the hours of Vespers and Compline into Evensong, later renamed Evening Prayer in subsequent editions of the BCP. “Evensong” comes from the Old English word for Vespers. Today, Evensong often refers to a sung service, while Evening Prayer is used for a spoken service.
Evensong became a quintessential form of Anglican worship. Its use in the Chapel Royal, cathedrals, and university chapels with their ample musical resources led to thousands of musical settings throughout the centuries. The Evening Service and its canticles became rich fodder for sacred music composers. Many settings are quite lavish in contrast with its earliest settings, which were likely plainchant.
At the core of Evening Prayer are the two scripture readings. The first reading is followed by the Magnificat, or the canticle of the Virgin Mary, while the second is followed by the Nunc Dimittis, or the canticle of Simeon. The Mag and Nunc, as they are often casually referred to by choristers, are usually composed in pairs. Often, the Invitatory, Psalm, and the Prayers are set to music. There may be additional anthems sung by the choir and hymns sung by the congregation. There are also spoken elements, such as the Apostles’ Creed and some of the prayers.
We welcome you to gather with us in prayer as we lift our hearts and voices to God together, joining with the ancient prayer of God's people.