GATHERING
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
There is the absolute hopelessness we face that everyone we love will die … even as we trust and know that love will give rise to growth, miracles, and resurrection. Love and goodness and the world’s beauty and humanity are the reasons we have hope. Yet no matter how much we recycle, believe in our Priuses, and abide by our local laws, we see that our beauty is being destroyed, crushed by greed and cruel stupidity. And we also see love and tender hearts carry the day. Fear, against all odds, leads to community, to bravery and right action, to hope
(Reflection: Anne Lamotte, Almost Everything: Notes on Hope, p. 3)
(Image: Carolyn Marshall Wright John One Five 2024 watercolor on paper 15 x 22 inches.jpg)
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The Creator calls us to trust,
promising that what has been lost
will be restored in the miracle of resurrection.
People: We are called to beauty and laughter.
Leader: The Spirit calls us to love, to encourage one another,
to be brave when we feel crushed.
People: We are called to growth and goodness.
Leader: Christ calls us to action,
to build a world where all have what they need,
and all can freely rejoice in who they are.
All: We are called to live as the Body of Christ,
discovering our hope together, in community.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Every day we face death
and see beauty and goodness
being destroyed.
People We believe in love and growth,
in miracles and resurrection,
yet hopelessness
drags us down into despair.
Leader: Surrounded by greed and cruel stupidity,
we lose hope in our ability
to make any real difference.
People: Yet every day we also see resurrection
in the world’s beauty, humanity,
and tender-hearted love.
Leader: Holy One, we confess
that we give in to hopelessness.
All: May our eyes, ears, and hearts
remain open to community,
to bravery and right action,
that we may rediscover hope every day.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: The Holy One loves us,
hears our prayers, and forgives us.
We can discover the hope that heals
and renews our courage for right action.
All: 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: Master Gardener of the Universe,
we give thanks
for the abundant, diverse beauty
of your creation,
which gives us hope in a broken world.
People: We give thanks for Jesus,
who calls us to right action
so we can create a hope-filled world where
all have what they need
and can rejoice fully in who they are.
Leader 2: We give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit,
who calls us to nurture and sustain one another,
so we can bravely face our fears.
People: We give thanks for your Holy Church,
where we learn to be a part
of the grace-filled Body of Christ,
broken and whole all at once.
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: We have affirmed in community
that against all odds
fear leads to bravery,
right action and hope.
Let us go forth,
greeting everyone we meet
as agents of right action
and bearers of hope and peace.
People: Amen.