Up All Night

Holy Saturday Vigil 2020

#upallnight #rumoursofhope #nightofprayer

This evening we gather with a bunch of priests, deacons and ordinands, ‘Creatives’ you might say, to tell the story of Israel’s journey from creation to where we find ourselves now, on Holy Saturday…watching and waiting for the resurrection hope which only Christ can bring! Join us tonight – official start time is 9pm but feel free to come earlier and tune into some worship music.

Each video or audio lasts no more than 10 minutes, giving you plenty of time to reflect and pray throughout this #NightofPrayer – don’t forget to set an alarm clock for the next ‘slot’ before you pray, due to our human ability to fall into sleep rather than prayer!

You may want to build a fire for the night, to light a candle from at dawn and take the ‘light of Christ’ into your homes – it’s a beautiful way to reclaim your homes as spaces where God dwells! You may also want some hot chocolate and snacks for post 3am…it gets harder to stay awake around that time!

Worship Tunes

To get heads in gear, it might be helpful to listen to the wonderful Rolf, leading us into Up All Night with a few worship tunes…have your fire lit as you listen to these, and gaze into the flames as you allow God to reclaim your heart.

1) Creation: 9pm

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

2) The fall: 9:30pm

Genesis 3

3) Noah and the flood: 10pm

Genesis 7:1-8:13

4) Abraham and Isaac: 10:30pm

Genesis 22:1-18

5) Moses and the burning bush: 11pm

Exodus 3:1-6

6) The passover: 11:30pm

Exodus 12:1-24

7) Crossing the Red Sea: 12 Midnight

Exodus 14:10-15:1

8) The faithfulness of Ruth: 12:30am

Ruth 1:15-4:17

9) Hannah and the birth of Samuel: 1am

1 Samuel 1:1-28

10) In Praise of Wisdom: 1:30am

Proverbs 8:1-9:6

11) I will save you from all afflictions: 2am

Isaiah 54:5-15

12) Let us return to the Lord who saves: 2:30am

Images used are from the following sources: 1. Getty images; 2. Grumpcrusade via Twitter; 3. Louise Crookenden-Johnson; 4. Getty images; 5. PA wire; 6. Alice Watson; 7. Business wire ; 8. Nursing Standard; 9. Alice Watson; 10. Alice Watson; 11. PeterStuart3 via Twitter; 12. Kent Nishimura; 13. Alice Watson

Isaiah 55:1-11

13) The Lord is like a mother: 3am

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Isaiah 66:6-16

14) God promises a new heart: 3:30am

Jeremiah 31:31-34

15) The valley of dry bones: 4am

Ezekiel 37:1-14

16) The river of life: 4:30am

Ezekiel 47:1-12

17) Daniel in the lions’ den: 5am

Daniel 6:1-24

18) Jonah and the fish: 5:15am

Jonah 1:1-2:10

The Exultet

This is a beautiful ancient song which celebrates the risen Christ and all that this means for us. In churches this is sung at the dawn Eucharist on Easter morning. In the midst of this hymn we bring the light of Christ into the church in three stages, entrance first, then the body, and then the sanctuary. This morning, and in these strange times, I invite you to light a candle from your fire (if you lit one through the vigil), and at the entrance stop and say ‘The light of Christ’, take it into the body of your home, the kitchen or lounge perhaps, the place where most time is spent, and say again, ‘The light of Christ’, then move along to the space where you go to recharge, this may be a prayer space or your bedroom, where you rest, and proclaim one third and final time ‘The light of Christ’. Settle there with your candle and listen to this wonderful hymn of praise, letting it’s words settle in your heart. Yes, these are strange times, and it is certainly odd to be celebrating Christ’s resurrection together, separately, but there is something incredibly pertinent about claiming all aspects of our homes as spaces where God dwells, and allowing that dwelling to transform the experience of our relationships with God moving forward into the Easter hope during this period of lockdown.

The Dawn Service

We are joining with Rumours of Hope to celebrate together that Christ is risen. After 5:45am, please click here and scroll to the bottom of the webpage.

“Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed – Alleluia!”

Common Worship ©The Archbishop’s Council 2000