[Music] good evening and welcome to canterbury cathedral on this saint francis day the end of sunday october the 4th and this morning at morning prayer we were thinking of the way in which francis made the first christmas crib for the villagers of grecio in 1223 with live animals and ox and an ass and also how in walking through the fields he would stop and even preach to the birds and they would sing back he saw god's glory in all creation and i'm going to continue that tonight here with a meditation poem by michael moore pergo he himself has an anniversary tomorrow and he was at king's canterbury here and has been a visitor here on many occasions and it's always good to see him but he began a charity called farms for city children which is a wonderful charity where those from the city who've had no experience in the countryside go and enjoy the life of god's creation and the creatures and the way in which they interact not only with each other but with the animals and the countryside there on the farm well it's a lovely day for us because it's also been harvest thanksgiving so the hymns also which the choir have sung to us congregations not yet allowed to sing hymns but the choirs have been singing the harvest hymns and to have the hymn of my predecessor dean alford uh written here in the deanery come me thankful people come raise the song of harvey's home all is safely gathered in the winter storms begin have that sun but also john rutter's lovely music to the words of for the beauty of the earth for the beauty of the skies for the love which from our birth over and around us lies all that has fitted together so well today as a theme and tonight we continue that and i shall read the meditation when we flip our candle and said the blessing at the end of compline and we can hear michael's own meditation as a gift at this time of pandemic so let's begin complement itself as we say our evening prayers the lord almighty grant us a quiet night and the perfect end be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion walk is about seeking whom he may devour whom resist steadfast in the faith but thou o lord have mercy upon us thanks be to god our help is in the name of the lord who has made heaven and earth we confess to god almighty the father the son and the holy ghost before the whole company of heaven that we have sinned exceedingly in thought word and deed through our fault our own fault our own grievous fault therefore we pray god to have mercy upon us almighty god have mercy upon us forgive us all our sins and bring us to everlasting life amen turn us so god our savior and let thine anger cease from us oh god make speed to save us oh lord make haste to help us glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen [Music] so we say psalm 91 and 134 who so dwelleth under the defense of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty i will say unto the lord thou art my hope and my stronghold my god in him will i trust for he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter and from the noise and pestilence he shall defend thee under his wings and thou shalt be safe under his feathers his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and butler thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day for the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noonday a thousand shall fall beside thee and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee ye with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the ungodly for thou lord art my hope thou hast said thine house of defense very high there shall no evil happen unto thee neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling for he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways they shall bear thee in their hands that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone thou shalt go upon the lion and adder the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet because he has set his love upon me therefore will i deliver him i will set him up because he has known my name he shall call upon me and i will hear him ye i am with him in trouble i will deliver him and bring him to honor with long life will i satisfy him and show him my salvation glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen behold now praise the lord all ye servants of the lord ye that by night stand in the house of the lord even in the courts of the house of our god lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the lord the lord that made heaven and earth give the blessing out of zion glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and never shall be world without end amen thou o lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy name leave us not oh lord our god thanks be to god into thy hands o lord i commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me o lord thy god of truth i commend my spirit glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost into thy hands o lord i commend my spirit before the ending of the day creator of the world we pray that with thy won'ted favor thou would be our guard and keeper now from all ill dreams defend our eyes from nightly fears and fantasies cleared underfoot our ghostly foe that no pollution we may know o father that we ask be done through jesus christ thine only son who with the holy ghost and thee thus live and reign eternally amen keep me o lord as the apple of an eye hide me under the shadow of thy wing so this time we light an evening candle for those whom we have known and loved and for those whom we are conscious have died recently and we give thanks for them as we light our candle [Music] rest eternal grant unto them o lord and let light perpetual shine upon them may they rest in peace and rise in glory amen save us our lord while waking and guard us while sleeping that awake we may watch with christ and asleep we may rest in peace lord now let us say thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared before the face of all people to be a light to lighten the gentiles and to be the glory of thy people israel glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen save us o lord waking and god have mercy upon us christ have mercy upon us lord have mercy upon us 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 the power and the glory forever and ever are men we will lay us down in peace and take our rest blessed art thou o lord god of our forebears and to be praised and glorified forever vouchsafer lord to keep us this night without sin o lord have mercy upon us have mercy upon us o lord let thy mercy lighted upon us as our trust is in thee lord hear our prayer and let our cry come unto thee let us pray visit we beseech thee o lord our homes and drive far from them all the snares of the enemy let thy holy angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace and may thy blessing be upon us ever more amen be present oh merciful god and protect us through the silent hours of this night so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world may repose upon thy eternal changelessness through jesus christ our lord amen say for a moment we make any prayers special to us for those whom we love and those of whom we are conscious that they need our prayers on this sunday evening [Music] watch now dear lord with those who wake or watch or weep tonight and give thine angels charge over those who sleep ten thy sick ones o lord christ rest thy weary ones less i dying ones soothe thy suffering ones pity thine afflicted ones and all for thy love's sake amen and the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you those whom you love and those whom you would pray for tonight and always amen okay a song of gladness by michael moore pergo i've been talking every morning to blackbird telling him why we are also sad at the moment he sits on his branch and distance it was blackbird's idea he sang out this morning at dawn from his treetop in the garden to fox half asleep behind the garden shed she thought it a good idea too it was a wake-up call fox was on her feet at once and trotting through blue bell wood where she barked it to deer who ran off across the stream kingfisher was there otter and dipper too they heard and piped it on and swallow swooped down over the meadow and passed it on to cows waiting to go into their milking and to sheep resting quietly under the hedge with her lambs in the corner of the dew damp field and they all agreed bleating it out to the bees already busy at their flowers to weaving spiders and grasshoppers and scurrying mice trees heard sheep crawling through the whole flock of them and they waved their budding leaves in wild enthusiasm and high above the clouds wandered through the skies driven by wind and wind took blackbird's idea over the cliffs across heaving seas where gulls and albatross cried it out and whales and dolphins and porpoises heard it and wailed and whooped it down into the deep where turtles listened and they too loved the idea so did plankton and every fish and crab and sea urchin and welk they all whispered that it was a fine notion the best they ever heard and the whisper went over the sea on the curling waves to the shores of africa where lions roared their approval and elephants trumpeted it leopards yawned it water buffalo belched it wild dogs yelped it wildebeest murmured it out across the savanna and storm lifted the idea up over rainforests where rain took it and poured it down on gorillas in the mist on chimpanzees in their sleeping nests howler monkeys and gibbons echoed their call loud over all the earth they are that loud and then from far up high the sun heard it too and shone it down over deserts where oryx stamped her foot impatient to be getting on with it and doing it she loved the idea that much even camel who rarely joined in anything thought this was the best and most beautiful idea he had ever had back in the garden blackbird waited till everyone was ready and then he began to sing and the whole carnival of animals every living thing on this good earth joined in until the globe echoed with the joy of it and blackbird was very pleased but i was still lost in sadness as i heard the earth singing around me it was a song of forgiveness i knew that so i asked blackbird if i could join in and he sang his answer back to me why do you think we are doing this you silly man we want you and yours to be happy again only then will you treat us and the world right again as you know you should only then we'll all be well sing silly man sing sing our song is your song your song is our song so i sang we all sang sang away our sadness in every house and flat and cottage we clapped and sang in every hut and tent in every palace and hospital and prison and they heard and we heard our song of gladness echoing all together in glorious harmony across the universe [Music] yes [Music] oh foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Laughter] thank you foreign [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you