Preparation 

An invitation to worship 
A hymn may be sung. 
* Penitence may be at this part of  the service or in Response. 
*An Acclamation and/or a Song of praise 
Metrical forms of  canticles may be used, or a hymn may be sung. 
* The Collect of the day 
Ministry of  the Word 
* Readings from the Bible 
* A Psalm and/or a Scripture Song may precede or follow readings. 
A Bible Responsory may follow a reading. 
* The Sermon 
A hymn may be sung. 
Response 
* An Affirmation of Faith 
The Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Affirmation of  Faith from the 
Renewal of  Baptismal Vows (page 400) or a scriptural affirmation of 
Faith. 
* The Prayers 
Intercessions and Thanksgiving 
Penitence (if  not used above) 
A general collect 
The whole section is concluded with The Lord's Prayer in one of  its 
approved forms. 
A hymn may be sung. 
Dismissal 
* A dismissal prayer 
The Blessing 
A salutation 
Sections marked with * are mandatory in any service based on this structure. 

Service of  The Word 
SERVICE OF THE WORD 
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SERVICE 

* A liturgical Greeting 
165 

 NOTES 
Service of  the Word is for use on occasions when the prescribed services of 
Morning  and  Evening  Prayer  or  Holy  Communion  may  not  meet  the 
needs of a particular congregation. 
A basic structure for all such services is provided. 
Examples  of  working  out  that  structure  approved  by  the  House  of 
Bishops have been published. Resource material authorised by the House 
of Bishops such as Patterns for Worship (Church House Publishing 2002) or 
Common Worship: Times and Seasons (Church of England 2004) may be used 
to work out other forms based on the Structure. 
GUIDELINES 
1 The Structure has four sections: 
Preparation:  A  Greeting,  an  invitation  to  worship,  a  hymn  of  praise  to 
God, an act of  penitence (but this may on occasion be more appropriate 
in the section called the Response) and an Acclamation. 
The Collect of  the day is the climax of  the Preparation and leads in to the 
Ministry of  the Word. 
Ministry of  the Word: The Reading and exposition of  Holy Scripture is the 
central part of the service. The use of the Psalms whether sung in metri- 
cal versions, or chanted or recited from the Psalter in this book, enables 
the congregation to interact with the Readings. Periods of  silence also 
help this interaction. The use of  Scripture Songs ('canticles') is recom- 
mended. 
Response: Normally an Affirmation of  Faith is followed by prayers for the 
Church and for the World. Sometimes penitence is also appropriate if not 
used in the Preparation. After a General Collect the climax of  this section 
comes as the congregation says together the Lord's Prayer. In this section 
the Offering may come before or after the Prayers. 
The  service  ends  with  The  Dismissal.  Either  a  Dismissal  Prayer  or  a 
Blessing may be followed by a final salutation. 
2   The keynote of  Service of  the Word is simplicity. It should not have a 
complicated opening. The service begins with a Greeting and Invitation to 
worship. This governs the choice of any hymn to be sung at this point. 
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Service of  The Word 

 3 Penitence will normally be expressed in the Preparation. 
4  The  Acclamation  is  a  proclamation  of  God's  majesty  and  love  that 
derives  from  the  Greeting  and  Invitation.  Traditional  elements  like  the 
Sursum Corda and Sanctus, as well as Canticles such as Gloria in Excelsis may 
have a place here. 
5 The Collect of  the day is given a special position, similar to its use in the 
Communion Service: the climax of  the Preparation. It is the 'link' with all 
the other worship of  the Church on the day. It may be introduced with a 
'one-line'  bidding,  deriving  from  the  central  thrust  of  the  prayer.  For 
example: the minister may say, 'As we prepare to use the Collect of  this 
Sunday, let us in silence pray for God's guidance.' (Or for spiritual strength 
or whatever is the central point of  the particular collect.) After twenty 
seconds or so of silent prayer the Collect is then recited. 
6 Psalms and what are entitled Scripture Songs are vital components of  the 
Service.  Metrical  versions  of  some  Psalms  are  to  be  found  in  Church 
Hymnal. Other sources of psalmody and different ways of using it can be 
explored. 
7  There  should  be  at  least  two  Readings  from  the  Bible.  Normally  the 
Sunday lectionary will determine the selection. On occasion readings may 
be presented in dramatised form. 
8 The use of  the terminology, The Sermon, the legally recognized word in 
the Church of Ireland, does not rule out a variety of ways of proclaiming 
the  message  of  the  Gospel;  these  may  include  drama,  interviews  and 
other techniques. 
9  When  appropriate  the  Sermon  may  be  followed  by  a  hymn.  An 
Affirmation of  Faith is regarded as essential. On some occasions it might be 
deemed suitable for an act of penitence to precede the Affirmation of  Faith 
in the Response. 
10  The  section  containing  the  Prayers  should  conclude  with  a  General 
Collect.  The  climax  of  the  Prayers,  indeed  of  the  whole  Response,  is  the 
Lord's Prayer, with an appropriate introduction. 
11 The service ends with the Dismissal.  If  a concluding hymn is custom- 
ary it is better for this to precede the Blessing and final salutation. 
Service of  The Word 
167 

 12 Periods of silence are important. Some indications of where these are 
most suitable have been given. Care and instruction are needed so that 
worshippers can learn how to use silence in worship. 

BIBLE RESPONSORIES 
Construction is by one of two methods: 
1 
2 
A verse of scripture is read by the minister. 
This is repeated by the congregation. 
The minister says some complementary words of scripture. 
The congregation repeats the first verse again. 
There is a trinitarian ascription 
Finally the congregation repeats the scripture verse a third 
time. 

A verse of scripture is read by the minister. 
A different but complementary verse is spoken by the 
congregation. 
Another verse is spoken by the minister. 
The congregation repeats its response. 
The Gloria is spoken by the minister. 
The congregation again repeats its response. 
Similar responsories will be found in the Canadian Book of  Alternative 
Services (1985), in the New Zealand Prayer Book (1988), in Promise of  his 
Glory (1990) and in Celebrating Common Prayer (1992). 
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Service of  The Word