Nativity Figures (Panama, late 1980s)
SPECIAL NOTE: Because of snow in Seattle on Sunday, December 26, 2021, KING-FM did not broadcast the service live.
Compline has re-opened to the public! For more information, go to the Compline Choir website.
The Compline Choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle presents the Office of Compline live via video livestream and audio broadcast on Classical 98.1 KING-FM. Singers are fully compliant with current health guidance. The Compline Choir is a ministry of the Diocese of Olympia and of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The Compline service is offered every Sunday night at 9:30 PM Pacific Time.
Video livestream feeds:
Livestream at complinechoir.org
Livestream at The Compline Choir Facebook page
Livestream at saintmarks.org
Livestream at St. Mark’s Cathedral Facebook page
Video livestream archive:
(link to the livestream archive on saintmarks.org after the service)
Audio stream feeds:
Live broadcast on KING-FM (Sundays at 9:30 pm PDT)
(link to the podcast on complinepodcast.org when uploaded)
Compline for The First Sunday after Christmas Day
The READER begins with a Land Acknowledgment, then a short passage selected from scripture.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Compline Choir, a shared ministry of the Peter R. Hallock Institute, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Olympia, acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Duwamish Tribe.
PROCESSIONAL: Gloria in excelsis Deo – Plainchant, adapt. Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
PREPARATION
READER: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
CHOIR: Amen.
READER: Beloved in Christ, be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith. [I Peter 5: 8, 9a]
READER: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.
The following is chanted.
CANTOR: O God, make speed to save us;
CHOIR: O Lord, make haste to help us.
CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
CANTOR: Praise ye the Lord;
CHOIR: The Lord’s name be praiséd.
The READER announces the Psalm to be sung. The appointed psalms for Compline are Psalm 4 (Cum invocarem), Psalm 31:1-6 (In te, Domine, speravi), Psalm 91 (Qui habitat), and Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc). Other psalms may be used as appropriate to the church year. Many of the psalm settings sung in the service have been composed by Peter Hallock or Jason Anderson.
PSALM 147 – Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014)
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
The LORD lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.
He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;
But the LORD has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor.
Worship the LORD, O Jerusalem; *
praise your God, O Zion;
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; *
he has blessed your children within you.
He has established peace on your borders; *
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth, *
and his word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool; *
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; *
who can stand against his cold?
He sends forth his word and melts them; *
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob, *
his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
He has not done so to any other nation; *
to them he has not revealed his judgments.
Hallelujah!
The READER speaks the following lesson:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
[John 1:1-4 (NRSV)]
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.
The following Respond is chanted:
CANTOR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
CANTOR: For thou hast redeeméd me, O Lord, thou God of truth;
CHOIR: I commend my spirit.
CANTOR: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
The READER announces the hymn to be sung. The hymn appointed for Compline is Te lucis ante terminum (Before the ending of the day). Other hymns may be sung as appropriate to the church year.
HYMN: Of the Father’s love begotten (Tune: DIVINUM MYSTERIUM) – Sanctus trope, 11th cent.; adapt. Piae Cantiones, 1582
Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
evermore and evermore.
Oh, that birth forever blessed
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race,
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face
evermore and evermore.
Let the heights of heav’n adore him,
angel hosts his praises sing,
pow’rs, dominions bow before him
and extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
ev’ry voice in concert ring
evermore and evermore.
Christ, to thee, with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unending praises be,
honor, glory, and dominion
and eternal victory
evermore and evermore.
The following is chanted:
CANTOR: Keep me as the apple of an eye;
CHOIR: Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.
NUNC DIMITTIS (Tune: MARILYN) – Peter R. Hallock
A setting of the Nunc dimittis (from Luke 2:29-32, with Gloria Patri) is sung. The text may be from the King James version or from one of several modern translations. An antiphon precedes and follows it:
ANTIPHON: Alleluia. The Word was made flesh, alleluia, and dwelt among us. Alleluia, alleluia.
Lord, let your servant part in peace, your word is now fulfilled.
These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold.
This is the Saviour of us all, the Gentiles’ promised Light,
God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel.
All glory to the Father be, All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost to thee, while endless ages run.
The Apostles Creed is intoned by the choir. The Assembly rises.
CANTOR: I believe in God,
CHOIR: the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE PRAYERS
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Christ, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Lord’s Prayer and the following versicles and responses are intoned:
CANTOR: Our Father,
CHOIR: who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
CANTOR: Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.
CANTOR: Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
CHOIR: Let us praise him and magnify him for ever.
CANTOR: Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven;
CHOIR: To be praised and glorified above all for ever.
CANTOR: The Almighty and merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
CHOIR: Amen.
The Confession and Absolution are spoken:
READER: Christ, the light of the world, has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light, let us confess our sins.
CHOIR: We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.
CHOIR: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
READER: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon and remission of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
CHOIR: Amen.
The following versicles and responses are chanted:
CANTOR: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
CHOIR: That thy people may rejoice in thee?
CANTOR: O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
CHOIR: And grant us thy salvation.
CANTOR: Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
CHOIR: O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
CANTOR: O Lord, hear our prayer;
CHOIR: And let our cry come unto thee.
CANTOR: Let us pray.
At least three but not more than five prayers (or collects) are intoned by the CANTOR. The first collect is proper to the day:
COLLECT FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS DAY
Almighty God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word: Grant that the same light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Other collects offered address the needs and concerns of the choir, or local or global community. The final collect is chosen from the following:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.
Or
Look down, O Lord from thy heavenly throne, illuminate the darkness of this night with thy celestial brightness, and from the sons of light banish the deeds of darkness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
CHOIR: Amen.
The READER announces the anthem(s) to be sung.
ANTHEMS:
There is no rose of such virtue – Stephen Caracciolo (b. 1962)
There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu.
Alleluia.
For in this rose contained was
Heav’n and earth in little space.
Res miranda.
By that rose we may well see
There be one God in persons three,
Pares forma.
Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth.
Transeamus.
There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu.
Gaudeamus.
Lullay my liking – Peter R. Hallock
I saw a fair maiden
Sitten and sing:
She lulléd a little child,
A sweeté lording.
Chorus:
Lullay my liking,
My dear son, my sweeting;
Lullay my dear heart,
Mine own dear darling.
That eternal lord is he
That made allé thing;
Of allé lordés he is Lord
Of allé kinges King.
Chorus:
Angels bright they sang that night
And saiden to that child,
“Blessed be thou and so be she
That is both meek and mild.”
Chorus:
FINAL RESPONSES and BLESSING
The CHOIR sings the final versicles and responses, using a setting composed by Peter Hallock in 1956, the year of the Compline Choir’s founding:
CANTOR: We will lay us down in peace and take our rest:
CHOIR: For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us to dwell in safety.
CANTOR: The Lord be with you:
CHOIR: And with thy spirit.
CANTOR: Let us bless the Lord:
CHOIR: Thanks be to God.
The closing blessing is spoken:
READER: The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.
CHOIR: Amen.
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