GATHERING
REFLECTION
This is our God. Not a distant judge nor a sadist, but a God who weeps. A God who suffers, not only for us, but with us. Nowhere is the presence of God amidst suffering more salient than on the cross. Therefore what can I do but confess that this is not a God who causes suffering. This is a God who bears suffering. I need to believe that God does not initiate suffering; God transforms it.
Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint, p. 114
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: God calls us from the painful reality all around us.
People: We come, listening for the Word
that is more than words.
Leader: God shines in the shadows,
showing us a way when there is no way.
People: We come to share Christ’s healing touch,
believing in the good news that we cannot see.
Leader: God’s love around us and within us
guides us on the path to peace and justice.
All: Holy One, we open our hearts to your Holy Spirit,
celebrating your transformation of suffering into hope and love.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: O Holy One, sometimes we forget
that you are present in our suffering.
People: Sometimes we blame you for our suffering.
Leader: We fail to accept that,
as you suffered on the cross,
so we, too, suffer
as a part of our broken humanity.
People: We ignore the gifts we receive every day
even in the midst of our suffering.
Leader: We forget to give thanks in all things.
All: Forgive us, Holy One,
and help us remember your presence with us.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: The Holy One weeps with us.
We are loved and 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, weeping God, we give thanks
that you bear our suffering;
that, in the midst of our tears, you cry with us,
and we are not alone.
People: We give thanks for your Holy Comforter,
who fills us with hope and courage
in these times of chaos.
Leader 2: We give thanks for your
suffering servant, Jesus,
who in his life, death, and resurrection
transformed his suffering
into a love that passes all understanding.
People: We give thanks for your Holy Church,
an incubator of transformation –
a place where love, courage, and hope are nurtured.
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: In the leaving,
in the letting go,
let there be this
to hold onto
at the last:
the enduring of love,
the persisting of hope,
the remembering of joy,
the offering of gratitude,
the receiving of grace,
the blessing of peace.
All: Amen
(Benediction from Jan Richardson, “In the Leaving,” Circle of Grace, p. 166)