Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist in Mississippi, the state’s field secretary for the NAACP, and a World War II veteran who had served in the United States Army. He worked to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, end the segregation of public facilities, and expand opportunities for African Americans, which included the enforcement of voting rights. Evers was assassinated June 12, 1963 by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council in Jackson, Mississippi. This group was formed in 1954 in Mississippi to resist the integration of schools and civil rights activism. As a veteran, Evers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests; his life and these events inspired numerous works of art, music, and film. All-white juries failed to reach verdicts in the first two trials of Beckwith in the 1960s. He was convicted in 1994 in a new state trial based on new evidence. Wikipedia
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/t4zdusp6
Give me justice, O God,
and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless.
From the deceitful and cunning rescue me,
for you, O God, are my strength. Psalm 43
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires, known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!
HYMN: Sojourn Music ©
Tune: https://tinyurl.com/59f5xd6n
Forgive us Lord for passing by
When children cry for bread
Forbid it, Lord, the justice lie
In tatters, cold and dead
Outside these walls run desperate streets
Where greed is law and life is cheap
We bar the doors
Refuse to see
Or hear the words You said
[Refrain:]
Let justice roll like a river
Like a river, let it roll
Let justice roll like a river
Like a river, let it roll
Convict us, Lord, we dance and laugh
Ignoring those who weep
Correct us, Lord, our golden calf
Has lulled our hearts to sleep
The gap between the rich and poor
Grows ever wider, shore to shore
There’s racial hate, religious war
Wolves among the sheep [Refrain x 2]
Indwell us, Lord, and purify
Our hands to work for you
Enlist us, Lord, to serve nearby
And cross the waters too
Your image bearers on the earth
Will never know how much they’re worth
Unless we love and help them first
Show the way to you [Refrain x 4]
PSALMS
Psalm 65 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y9fmulwv)
1 Thou, O God, art praised in Sion *
and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
2 Thou that hearest the prayer *
unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 My misdeeds prevail against me *
O be thou merciful unto our sins.
4 Blessed is the man, whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thee *
he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied
with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
5 Thou shalt shew us wonderful things in thy righteousness,
O God of our salvation *
thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth,
and of them that remain in the broad sea.
6 Who in his strength setteth fast the mountains *
and is girded about with power.
7 Who stilleth the raging of the sea *
and the noise of his waves, and the madness of the people.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens *
thou that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee.
9 Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it *
thou makest it very plenteous.
10 The river of God is full of water *
thou preparest their corn, for so thou providest for the earth.
11 Thou waterest her furrows,
thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof *
thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.
12 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness *
and thy clouds drop fatness.
13 They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness *
and the little hills shall rejoice on every side.
14 The folds shall be full of sheep *
the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn,
that they shall laugh and sing.
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.
Psalm 66 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ybnhonff)
1 O be joyful in God, all ye lands *
sing praises unto the honour of his Name,
make his praise to be glorious.
2 Say unto God, O how wonderful art thou in thy works *
through the greatness of thy power
shall thine enemies be found liars unto thee.
3 For all the world shall worship thee *
sing of thee, and praise thy Name.
4 O come hither, and behold the works of God *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward the children of men.
5 He turned the sea into dry land *
so that they went through the water on foot; there did we rejoice thereof.
6 He ruleth with his power for ever; his eyes behold the people *
and such as will not believe shall not be able to exalt themselves.
7 O praise our God, ye people *
and make the voice of his praise to be heard;
8 Who holdeth our soul in life *
and suffereth not our feet to slip.
9 For thou, O God, hast proved us *
thou also hast tried us, like as silver is tried.
10 Thou broughtest us into the snare *
and laidest trouble upon our loins.
11 Thou sufferedst men to ride over our heads *
we went through fire and water,
and thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
12 I will go into thine house with burnt-offerings *
and will pay thee my vows, which I promised with my lips,
and spake with my mouth, when I was in trouble.
13 I will offer unto thee fat burnt-sacrifices, with the incense of rams *
I will offer bullocks and goats.
14 O come hither, and hearken, all ye that fear God *
and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul.
15 I called unto him with my mouth *
and gave him praises with my tongue.
16 If I incline unto wickedness with mine heart *
the Lord will not hear me.
17 But God hath heard me *
and considered the voice of my prayer.
18 Praised be God who hath not cast out my prayer *
nor turned his mercy from me.
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.
Psalm 67 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y7vuwqcm)
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us *
and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us;
2 That thy way may be known upon earth *
thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God *
yea, let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations rejoice and be glad *
for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God *
let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth bring forth her increase *
and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.
7 God shall bless us *
and all the ends of the world shall fear him.
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.
Psalm 65 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-65.mp3)
1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion; *
to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
2 To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come, *
because of their transgressions.
3 Our sins are stronger than we are, *
but you will blot them out.
4 Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there! *
they will be satisfied by the beauty of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation, *
O Hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the seas that are far away.
6 You make fast the mountains by your power; *
they are girded about with might.
7 You still the roaring of the seas, *
the roaring of their waves,
and the clamor of the peoples.
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at your
marvelous signs; *
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly;
you make it very plenteous; *
the river of God is full of water.
10 You prepare the grain, *
for so you provide for the earth.
11 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; *
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.
12 You crown the year with your goodness, *
and your paths overflow with plenty.
13 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, *
and the hills be clothed with joy.
14 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks,
and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; *
let them shout for joy and sing.
| Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
| as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm 66
[Karl Kohlhase http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-66-Kohlhase.mp3)
Refrain:
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth,
sing the glory of his name;
give unto him glorious praise
Say to God, “How awesome are your works,
Your pow’r is so great that your enemies cringe
All of the earth shall worship you;
They sing praises, sing praises to your name
Come and see what our God has done;
he is awesome in his deeds among men
He turned the sea into dry land;
men passed through the river on foot
There did we rejoice in him,
who rules by His might forever
Whose eyes keep watch o’er the nations,
so rebels may not exalt themselves [Refrain]
Bless our God, all you people,
let the sound of His praises be heard
For He has kept us among the living,
and has not allowed our feet to slip
O God, even though You have tried us,
You have tested like silver is tested
You have led us through fire and through water,
and brought us to the land of abundance
I will come into Your house,
with burnt offerings I will pay my vows
Those which my lips have spoken,
and my mouth promised You in the midst of troubles [Refrain]
Yes, I will offer unto You, burnt offerings of the fatlings
And with the smoke of sacrificial rams,
I’ll bring offerings of bulls and of goats
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
I will tell what He has done for me
I cried aloud unto Him;
He was highly praised with my tongue
Had I clung to sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened
But truly God has listened,
and has heard the sound of my prayer
Bless God who rejected not my prayer
nor removed His love from me [Refrain]
Psalm 67 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-67.mp3)
1 May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
2 Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
7 May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.
| Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
| as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
PRAYER
Light of the world,
you have come into the world’s darkness
and the darkness cannot overwhelm the light.
Let your holy name be known through all the earth,
that all people and nations may praise you
and walk in your ways;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
Judah approached him and said, “Please, my master, allow your servant to say something to my master without getting angry with your servant since you are like Pharaoh himself. My master asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or brother?’ And we said to my master, ‘Yes, we have an elderly father and a young brother, born when he was old. His brother is dead and he’s his mother’s only child. But his father loves him.’ You told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him.’ And we said to my master, ‘The young man can’t leave his father. If he leaves, his father will die.’ You said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother doesn’t come down with you, you’ll never see my face again.’
“When we went back to my father your servant, we told him what you said. Our father told us, ‘Go back and buy for us a little food.’ But we said, ‘We can’t go down. We will go down only if our youngest brother is with us. We won’t be able to gain an audience with the man without our youngest brother with us.’ Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave birth to two sons for me. One disappeared and I said, “He must have been torn up by a wild animal,” and I haven’t seen him since. And if you take this one from me too, something terrible will happen to him, and you will send me—old as I am—to my grave in despair.’ When I now go back to your servant my father without the young man—whose life is so bound up with his— and when he sees that the young man isn’t with us, he will die, and your servants will have sent our father your servant—old as he is—to his grave in grief. I, your servant, guaranteed the young man’s safety to my father, telling him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, it will be my fault forever.’ Now, please let your servant stay as your slave instead of the young man so that he can go back with his brothers. How can I go back to my father without the young man? I couldn’t bear to see how badly my father would be hurt.”
HYMN: John Keble
Tune: Hursley https://tinyurl.com/46xzxyf4
1 Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
it is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earthborn cloud arise,
to hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.
2 When the soft dews of kindly sleep
my weary eyelids gently steep,
be my last thought how sweet to rest
forever on my Savior’s breast.
3 Abide with me from morn till eve,
for without Thee I cannot live;
abide with me when night is nigh,
for without Thee I dare not die.
4 If some poor wand’ring child of Thine
has spurned today the voice divine,
now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
let him no more lie down in sin.
5 Come near and bless us when we wake,
ere through the world our way we take,
till in the ocean of Thy love
we lose ourselves in heav’n above.
In fact, there are many who are rebellious people, loudmouths, and deceivers, especially some of those who are Jewish believers. They must be silenced because they upset entire households. They teach what they shouldn’t to make money dishonestly. Someone who is one of their own prophets said, “People from Crete are always liars, wild animals, and lazy gluttons.” This statement is true. Because of this, correct them firmly, so that they can be healthy in their faith. They shouldn’t pay attention to Jewish myths and commands from people who reject the truth. Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and without faith. Instead, their mind and conscience are corrupted. They claim to know God, but they deny God by the things that they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.
HYMN: Brian Wren ©
Tune: Lauds https://tinyurl.com/39wp9vzr
1 There’s a spirit in the air,
Telling Christians ev’rywhere:
“Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world!”
2 Lose your shyness, find your tongue,
Tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
3 When believers break the bread,
When a hungry child is fed,
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world!
4 Still the Spirit gives us light,
Seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
5 When a stranger’s not alone,
where the homeless find a home,
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world!
6 May the Spirit fill our praise,
guide our thoughts and change our ways.
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
7 There’s a spirit in the air,
Calling people ev’rywhere:
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working in our world!
Jesus said, “Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on bedrock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It didn’t fall because it was firmly set on bedrock. But everybody who hears these words of mine and doesn’t put them into practice will be like a fool who built a house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It fell and was completely destroyed.”
When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he was teaching them like someone with authority and not like their legal experts.
CANTICLE Isaiah 9; Isaiah 40:1-9; 1 John 1
(Dan Schutte: https://tinyurl.com/ybrvb259)
Awake from your slumber! Arise from your sleep!
A new day is dawning for all those who weep
The people in darkness have seen a great light
The Lord of our longing has conquered the night
Refrain:
Let us build the city of God
May our tears be turned into dancing!
For the Lord, our light and our love
Has turned the night into day!
We are sons of the morning; we are daughters of day
The One who has loved us has brightened our way. Refrain
God is light; in him there is no darkness
Let us walk in his light, his children, one and all. Refrain
O comfort my people; make gentle your words
Proclaim to my city the day of her birth. Refrain
THE PRAYERS PWC
God of Jerusalem, send the riches of your grace
upon the church throughout the world.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
Fill all who proclaim the word of truth with the infinite wisdom of Christ.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
Inspire all who have consecrated their lives to your reign
and all who are struggling to follow the way of Christ with the gifts of the Spirit.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
Strengthen all who govern the nations
so that they strive for justice and peace.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
Enlighten scholars and research-workers
so that their studies may benefit humanity.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
Give your peace to all who have passed from this life in faith and obedience.
Creator of all, carry us in your arms.
(Plainsong Mode 2: https://tinyurl.com/yctqq8cf)DL
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the bread of life;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Eternal God,
we thank you for the witness of Medgar Evers,
who was sustained by his Christian faith
as he led the struggle for civil rights in the United States.
Strengthen us, after his example,
to make no peace with oppression
and to witness boldly for our Deliverer, Jesus Christ;
who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. HWHM, alt.
Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
EH Exciting Holiness, Ed. Brother Tristram SSF © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997
RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.
DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.
PWC PRAY WITHOUT CEASING: Morning and Evening Prayer for the Seasons of the Church Year Prepared by The Rev’d Dr Richard Geoffrey Leggett on behalf of The Liturgy Task Force of the Anglican Church of Canada, May 2016.
HWHM Holy Women, Holy Men © Church Publishing, Inc.
The main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible.
The traditional-language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern versions of Psalms 65 and 67 are from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and are chanted by Ryland Angel. Psalm 66 is in the version sung by Karl Kohlhase http://www.k4communications.com/karl/index.html.
Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.
Compilation © 2024 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.
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