Lunchtime Eucharist, shared with Imperial College Chaplaincy.

Morning Prayer (known also as Matins) is one of the two daily services in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, compiled from the ancient Monastic Offices in the 16th century at the Reformation. It starts with prayers of penitence, and is followed by a Psalm, two readings (traditionally called ‘Lessons’) from Scripture, Canticles (musical settings of sacred words or texts from Scripture), the Apostles’ Creed (a brief statement of the Christian faith) and set prayers. In the Anglican tradition, we also have a Sermon, an Anthem sung by the choir, we sing hymns, and there are further prayers. Parts of the service are sung to formal settings by the choir. As one of the main Sunday Services offered at Holy Trinity, it is always followed by a shortened service of Holy Communion.

The Eucharist (also known in other parts of the Church as the Mass, Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper), has developed over 2,000 years as the central and distinctive act of the Church’s worship, from the earliest days of Christians coming together. We use the order of service from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. We obey, with great solemnity, Jesus’ command on the night that he was betrayed, that we should take bread and wine, give thanks, break the bread, and eat and drink ‘in remembrance of me’. This Sacrament (a word related to ‘consecrate’ or ‘making sacred’) is celebrated in a service which also includes other ancient elements of Christian worship, including Hymns, Prayers, a Psalm, Readings from Scripture, and a Sermon. Part of the service, including the Sanctus (‘Holy, Holy, Holy…’) and the Gloria are sung to formal settings by the choir.