Vigil of MAY 21, 2021 8 PM - Washington National Cathedral
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vigil of hope
MAY 21, 2021
8 PMVigil of Hope
May 21, 2021
The people’s responses are in bold.
gathering
Hear My Prayer Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.
(Psalm 102:1)
The Bidding
When ancient Israel had suffered the great pain and tragedy of death and destruction, God said to them through the
prophet Jeremiah:
Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
Thus says the Lord:
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
says the Lord:
there is hope for your future.
(Jeremiah 31:15-17a)
Tonight we gather to be reassured that God hears the “lamenting and bitter weeping” of this nation, because so many
of her children are no more due to the pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism. May we now seek that assurance
in prayer, for the healing of our grief-stricken hearts, for the souls and sacred memory of those who have died. Let us
pray for Divine wisdom and guidance as our nation and the world seek to heal. May we always turn in the direction
of love and hope.
We meet in the presence of God
who knows our needs,
hears our cries,
feels our pain,
and heals our wounds.
As we come together for worship, the lit Paschal Candle bears witness to the presence of the risen Christ in our midst.
choral response
Lux aeterna Sung by the choir. plainsong
Sung in Latin.
May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints for evermore: for thou art gracious. Eternal rest give to
them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them: with thy saints for evermore, for thou art gracious.
1the opening prayer
Lord God, the maker and redeemer of all, as we come before you in grief and praise this night, comfort us with your
presence, make us attentive to your voice, and sustain us with the hope of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
the lord’s prayer
Let us pray together,
Our Father, 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.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Reading • Lamentations 3:1-3, 21-24, 31-33
God’s steadfast love endures
I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
For the Lord will not
reject forever.
Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
2psalm 121:1-2 Sung by the choir. chant: H. Walford Davies (1869–1941)
I lift up my eyes to the hills;
from where is my help to come?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
candle lighting
We light this candle in memory of all people whose lives were lost too soon from COVID-19.
hymn
Abide with Me Sung by all. Eventide
3The Second Reading • Selection from “If the Trees Can Keep Dancing, So Can I”
A crowdsourced poem written by National Public Radio listeners in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic
What I'm learning about grief
is that it can turn you into someone you don't want to be, can help you become
someone you never thought you could be
is that it transcends color, race, Religion, gender.
is that it's an old lover that won't leave. trying to hold your hand again –
that it aches in the arches of feet
that its mother is loss, its father, change
Make room for it.
Is that tiny losses add up
The missed first party my son was to attend
The school days he yearns for with his friends I tell him it will be over soon
What I'm learning about grief
I learned a long time ago.
Knead grief, as you would bread.
Weave grief, as you would thread.
there is no vaccine against it—we can't develop antibodies against it, it is something I have and something you
have—but in these times it is something we have
It is anger and denial
It is chaotic laughter from splintered memories
It is jagged cries and single tears
It is numb and indifferent
It is the pinprick of light, promising
A slow semblance of normality returned
What I'm learning about grief
Is to acknowledge its presence
Its many forms and guises
Then, to use it, while reaching out
Connected to everyone who is braving this same storm
What I'm learning about grief is that it is still learning about me
Learning that I am strong and resilient
If the trees can keep dancing,
So can I.
psalm 121:3-4 Sung by the choir.
chant: H. W. Davies
He will not let your foot be moved
and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
candle lighting
We light this candle in memory of all people whose lives were lost from systemic racism or any form of hate.
4anthem
Healing Sung by the cantor. Richard Smallwood (b. 1948)
Don't be discouraged
Joy comes in the morning
Know that God is nigh
Stand still and look up
God is going to show up
He is standing by
There's healing for your sorrow
Healing for your pain
Healing for your spirit
There's shelter from the rain
Lord send the healing
For this we know
There is a balm in Gilead
For there's a balm in Gilead
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the soul
Healing for the soul
The Third Reading • Philippians 4:4-9
Moving from anxiety to peace by remaining firm in faith
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do
not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about
these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of
peace will be with you.
anthem
Luminous Awakening Sung by the choir. Elizabeth Alexander (b. 1962)
Holy Spirit, breath of every being,
root of every creature,
moving in all.
Bathing all lives
with forgiveness and grace,
and caressing wounds
with the balm of boundless joy.
Pure light beyond light,
luminous awakening,
radiant, bountiful,
resurrecting everything
again and again and again.
(Original Latin by Hildegard of Bingen, 1098–1179; English translation by E. Alexander)
5The Fourth Reading • Excerpt from Desmond Tutu Nobel Lecture
The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu received the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize and delivered this lecture on December 11, 1984.
Unless we work assiduously so that all of God’s children, our brothers and sisters, members of our one human family,
all will enjoy basic human rights, the right to a fulfilled life, the right of movement, of work, the freedom to be fully
human, with a humanity measured by nothing less than the humanity of Jesus Christ himself, then we are on the road
inexorably to self-destruction, we are not far from global suicide; and yet it could be so different.
When will we learn that human beings are of infinite value because they have been created in the image of God, and
that it is a blasphemy to treat them as if they were less than this and to do so ultimately recoils on those who do this?
In dehumanizing others, they are themselves dehumanized. Perhaps oppression dehumanizes the oppressor as much
as, if not more than, the oppressed. They need each other to become truly free, to become human. We can be human
only in fellowship, in community, in koinonia, in peace.
Let us work to be peacemakers, those given a wonderful share in our Lord’s ministry of reconciliation. If we want
peace, so we have been told, let us work for justice. Let us beat our swords into ploughshares.
God calls us to be fellow workers with him, so that we can extend his Kingdom of Shalom, of justice, of goodness, of
compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, joy and reconciliation, so that the kingdoms of this world will become
the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen.
psalm 121:5-6 Sung by the choir. chant: H. W. Davies
The Lord himself watches over you;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
So that the sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
candle lighting
We light this candle for the peace that we seek in our lives. May we find comfort, solace, and strength in the midst of
our pain.
anthem
God Is Sung by the cantor. Robert J. Fryson (1944–1994)
God is my protection.
God is my all and all.
God is my light in darkness.
God is my all and all.
God is my joy in time of sorrow.
God is my all and all.
God is my today and tomorrow.
God is my all and all.
Refrain God is the joy and the strength of my life,
He removes all pain, misery, and strife.
He promised to keep me, never to leave me.
He’ll never ever fall short of his word.
I’ve got to fast and pray, stay in that narrow way.
I’ll keep my life clean every day.
I want to go with him, when he comes back.
I’ve come to far and I’ll never turn back!
God is my all and all.
6The Fifth Reading • Juan 14:25-27; John 14:25-27
La promesa del Espíritu Santo • The promise of the Holy Spirit
Jesús dijo: «Les estoy diciendo todo esto mientras estoy con ustedes; pero el Defensor, el Espíritu Santo que el Padre
va a enviar en mi nombre, les enseñará todas las cosas y les recordará todo lo que yo les he dicho. Les dejo la paz. Les
doy mi paz, pero no se la doy como la dan los que son del mundo. No se angustien ni tengan miedo.»
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Fa-
ther will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let
them be afraid.”
psalm 121:7-8 Sung by the choir. chant: H. W. Davies
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
it is he who shall keep you safe.
The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in,
from this time forth for evermore.
candle lighting
We light this candle for our hope as we face the future. Although our lives have been marked by pain and loss, and
although pain will remain, we hope for a future that also has healing and joy.
hymn
Great Is Thy Faithfulness Sung by all. Faithfulness
7The Covenant of Hope
Rooted in Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at Washington National Cathedral on All Saints’ Day 2020.
Brothers, sisters, and siblings, we are called to journey together.
Following in the way of prophets ancient and modern, we seek the mountaintop.
We yearn for God’s promised land.
We look not for the world as it is, but as it is meant to be.
We lift our gaze beyond the nightmare of reality as it often is, to behold the dream of God’s new reality.
We look for the world God is determined will one day come to be, a promised land made not of soil and earth, but of
Spirit and freedom, of justice, compassion, and love.
We yearn for God’s promised land.
We affirm that all people everywhere have been created equal by God.
We uphold human dignity and march toward equality.
We believe in liberty and justice for all.
We love our enemies.
We promise to do unto others as they would do unto us.
We yearn for God’s promised land.
Yearning for the promised land, we hold on to hope.
We hold on to hope grounded in values and ideals that can see us through.
We hold on to hope in times of trouble and turmoil, in moments of joy and celebration.
We hold on to hope whether in the valley of the shadow of death or on the mountain of exaltations.
In the assurance of your love, we hold on to hope.
Blessed are those who walk the way of love, live in hope, and strive for righteousness. May we, strengthened by our belief
in God’s promised land, depart from this place carrying forth the light of hope into the world.
the concluding prayer
God of love, passionate and strong, tender and caring: watch over us and hold us all the days of our life; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
the blessing
Canon Duncan blesses the people and the people respond, Amen.
8hymn
We’ve Come This Far by Faith Refrain sung by all. Albert A. Goodson (b. 1933)
Verses sung by the cantor.
Don’t be discouraged when trouble’s in your life. He’ll bear your burdens and move all misery and strife. That’s why…
Refrain.
Just the other day I heard someone say he didn’t believe in God’s word; but I can truly say that God had made a way
and he never failed me yet. That’s why… Refrain.
the sending
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Go forth in hope bearing the light of Christ. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Thanks be to God! Alleluia. Alleluia.
Vayan con esperanza, llevando la luz de Cristo. Aleluya. Aleluya.
¡Demos gracias a Dios! Aleluya. Aleluya.
postlude
Jesus Is the Light V. Michael McKay (b. 1952)
9service participants
officiants
The Reverend Canon Kelly Brown Douglas
Canon Theologian, Washington National Cathedral
The Reverend Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan
Canon for Worship, Washington National Cathedral
The Reverend Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.
Canon Missioner and Minister of Equity and Inclusion, Washington National Cathedral
The Reverend Patrick L. Keyser
Priest Associate, Washington National Cathedral
readers
Arrieanna
Head Acolyte, Washington National Cathedral
David
Acolyte, Washington National Cathedral
Mildred J. Reyes
Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries & Diocesan Initiatives, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
G. Scott Sanders
Cathedral Verger, Washigton National Cathedral
musicians
The Professional Cathedral Choir
Canon Michael McCarthy
Director of Music and Director of Institutional Planning, Washigton National Cathedral
Thomas M. Sheehan
Organist and Associate Director of Music, Washigton National Cathedral
Daryl L. A. Hunt
Associate Director of Music for Contemporary Worship, Washigton National Cathedral
Imani-Grace Cooper, singerpermissions Texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Lord’s Prayer and psalm text taken from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Public domain. “If the Trees Can Keep Dancing, So Can I,” Copyright 2020, National Public Radio. Used by permission. [Accessed at www.npr. org/2020/04/30/845910766/if-the-trees-can-keep-dancing-so-can-i-a-community-poem-to-cope-in-crisis]. Desmond Tutu Nobel lecture, December 11, 1984, Copyright 1984, The Nobel Foundation. Used by permission. Abide with Me. Text: Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). Music: Eventide. William Henry Monk (1823–1889). Public domain. Healing. Richard Smallwood, Copyright 2004, Bridge Building Music and T. Autumn Music (both admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.). Reprinted under CCLI License #3058209. Luminous Awakening. English translation by Elizabeth Alexander, Copyright 2016, E. Alexander. Reprinted under One License #A-709283. God Is. Robert J. Fryson. Copyright 1976, R. J. Fryson. Reprinted under One License #A-709283. Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Text: Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960). Music: Faithfulness. William M. Runyan (1870–1957). Public domain. We’ve Come This Far by Faith. Text and music: Albert A. Goodson, Copyright 1993, Manna Music, Inc. Reprinted under One License #A-709283. Thank you for worshiping with Washington National Cathedral, your National Cathedral. The work of the Cathedral in service to the city, the nation, and the world is made possible entirely through private support. The gifts of people from across the country and the world are behind every worship service, concert, public program, and the daily work of maintaining this historic landmark. It is only through your generosity that the Cathedral can fully live into its priorities of welcoming, deepening, convening, and serving. We invite you to support the mission and ministry of the Cathedral. You may text the dollar amount you wish to give to (202) 856-9005 or visit cathedral.org/support to donate. You may also mail a check to Washington National Cathedral, P.O. Box 98283, Washington, DC 20090-8283. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Please know that your participation with us today has been a blessing.
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