GATHERING
REFLECTION
Finding Grace and Hope
REFLECTION
Around us, life bursts with miracles—a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Essential Writings, p. 37
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We are called to gather in the name of the One who calls us.
People: We come yearning
for answers to our questions,
for solutions to our problems,
for healing for our wounds.
Leader: Look: the world is filled with hope!
People: Listen: the world is filled with grace!
Leader: Miracles are announced
in whispers and in shouts,
in music and in stories,
in weeping and in silence.
All: We come to become what we already are:
the Body of Christ, breathing in rhythm with the breath of all beings.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Holy Maker of light and life and love,
you fill our universe with miracles.
People: We are blinded
by the pain of war or famine,
the fear of losing out,
the narrow focus on our own needs.
Leader: Jesus taught us to respond
to hatred and insult with love,
watching for the miracles that
point the way to hope and grace.
People: We get angry with people
whose values we do not share.
Leader: The Holy Spirit coaxes us
to move from shadows into light,
from fear and anger
to hope and grace.
All: We are confused and discouraged
by the chaos all around us.
Forgive us, and help us join our hearts
with the rhythm of hope
and grace that flows from you.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: The God of all forgives our sins
and opens our eyes to signs of hope,
teaching us how to live with grace.
We are forgiven.
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: Holy, imaginative Creator,
we are thankful for laughter,
raindrops, and flowers
that reveal the miracle
of your creation.
People: We give thanks for Jesus,
who in his humanity
offered hope and grace
to all he encountered.
Leader 2: We give thanks for
the miracle of your Holy Spirit,
a heart that beats in rhythm
with the heartbeat of all beings.
People: We give thanks for your Holy Church,
where we share
our encounters with miracles,
increasing our awareness
and opening our hearts
to the heartbeat of your hope
and the rhythms of your grace.
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: As beloved creations of God,
we are a multiplicity of miracles.
Therefore, go forth
with the unceasing blessings
of our Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit,
to love and serve the world.
All: Amen