GATHERING
REFLECTION
God never says, you should have come yesterday;
God never says, you must come again tomorrow,
but today if you will hear God’s voice,
today God will hear you. …
God brought light out of darkness,
not out of lesser light.
God can bring summer out of winter,
even if there is no spring.
All occasions invite God’s mercies,
and all times are God’s seasons.
John Donne (1571-1631), (revised with inclusive language)
quoted in Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief, by Martha Hickman
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Today, we hear the voice of God.
People: Today, God hears our voices.
Leader: Today, God has brought
a new morning out of deepest night.
People: Today, God moves
in us, around us, and through us.
Leader: Come, trusting in the Holy One,
who is present everywhere.
All: We come, ready to believe
that God is here now, and in every moment.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Gracious and Holy one, Creator of all things and of emptiness,
we come to you full of clutter and distraction,
which stifles and burdens us
and makes us a burden to others.
People: Empty us now of gnawing dissatisfaction,
of anxious imaginings, of fretful preoccupations,
of nagging prejudices, of old scores to settle,
and of the arrogance of being right.
Leader: Empty us of the ways we unthinkingly think of ourselves
as powerless victims, determined by our gender, age, race
to be less than we are and less than yours.
People: Empty us of the disguises and lies
in which we hide ourselves from other people
and from our responsibility for our neighbors and for the world.
Leader: Hollow out in us a space in which we will find ourselves,
with peace and a whole heart, a forgiving spirit and holiness,
the springs of laughter,
and the will to reach boldly for abundant life
for ourselves and for your whole family on earth.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: Without God’s mercy
we would remain lost.
The Holy One gives us extravagant grace
and mercy without limit,
holding us in love
even as a mother cradles her child.
People: Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE
INTERCESSION AND PETITION
COMMITMENT
All: O Holy One, we come today
to claim our relationship with you.
We pray for the commitment to grow together,
sharing the gifts you give us with others
here and in the wider world.
Forgive us for the hurt we have inflicted
and help us forgive those who have hurt us.
Give us strength and discipline
to nurture our relationship with you;
to care for every part of your creation;
to foster justice and be in solidarity with those in need;
to work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
and to respond joyfully when you call,
freely giving our selves as you have shown the way.
We open our hearts to you and your creation
in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
HYMN
THE WORD
SCRIPTURE
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
COMMUNION
PREPARATION
Leader 1: This is the table of the heavenly feast,
the joyful celebration of the people of God.
Leader 2: We gather now as one body, joined around the table.
Here we celebrate God’s presence among us,
united in Christ’s spirit, broken and whole all at once.
All: Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,
sinner and forgiven, we make one circle
of knowing, believing, rejoicing, being,
as God lights and rests among us.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: Holy Source of every thought and thing,
we give thanks that you bring light out of darkness,
reality out of unimagined possibility.
People: We give thanks for Jesus,
who shows us how to nurture community at every level
by learning to love one another.
Leader 2: We give thanks for the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
your loving presence flowing through us out into the hurting world,
leading us to paths to peace with justice in fearful times.
All: We give thanks for your Holy Church,
which comforts us, encourages us, and holds us accountable,
as we trust in God’s presence here and now.
BLESSING THE ELEMENTS
Leader 1: Christ invites everyone to eat the bread of life,
to drink the cup of the new covenant.
Leader 2: Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
You who come to me shall never hunger;
you who believe in me shall never thirst.
Leader 1: On the night he gave himself up, Jesus took bread,
and after giving thanks to God, broke it and said,
This is my body,
broken for the healing of the world.
Whenever you eat it, do so remembering me.
Leader 2: After supper, Jesus took the cup and said,
This is the cup of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for all.
Whenever you drink it, do so remembering me.
All: O Holy One, send down your Spirit
that these gifts of grain and grape,
and work of human hands
may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Unite us with Christ forever
and bring us with the whole creation
to your eternal realm.
SHARE THE ELEMENTS
Leader 1: The body of Christ, broken for all of us.
Feed on Christ in your hearts with thanksgiving.
Leader 2: The cup of the new covenant, poured out for the healing of the world.
Drink deeply of it.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
All: God of abundance and mercy,
we give joyful thanks
for your eternal love and healing presence
in our celebration of bread and cup.
Bless this Body of Christ
that we may attend faithfully to our call to be your servants,
with each other and throughout the world. Amen.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Today and at all times
we participate in the great Mystery,
the incomprehensible One
who is always present with us.
Therefore, as we receive grace
let us freely give it to all –
all people and living beings
we meet along the way.
May the Holy One beyond our knowing
fill us with joy, peace, and love
this day and always.
All: Amen.
Confession adapted from Ted Loder, “Empty Me,” in
Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle, p. 40