INVITATION

This is the table, not of the Church, but of God.

One:
It is to be made ready for those who love God
and who want to love God more.
So, come, you who have much faith and you who have little,
you who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time,
you who have tried to follow and you who have failed.
Come, not because I invite you: it is God, and it is Gods will
that you who want God should meet God here.

ACT OF CONFESSION
The table of God is full of mercy and grace, so let us, in recognition of our failings, confess
One:
our sins before God and one another: Family in Christ, what is required of us?

All:
One:
All:

We are to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before our God.i
Gracious God, we confess what seems always with us:
Broken things within us that seem to never mend, empty places within us that seem
always to ache, and our living in ways that bring glory only to ourselves. Because we
have seen pain without being moved, spoken about a need for more love without
loving all those around us, for claiming faith without living your word, and for ignoring
our privilege and affluence in the face of hunger and lack.ii Break our hearts so that we
may turn fully to your will, sharing your love with all those we know and meet. Love us
fiercely, for you knew all our miseries before your eyes were fixed on us and yet you
did not turn away from us; rather, in the midst of things we should not have done and
those things we have left undone, you loved us with a love more sweet and tender.iii

One:
All:

Lord have mercy

Bowing the head.

Christ have mercy

Lord have mercy

ASSURANCE OF PARDON
How we love to hand on to the past! We get all tied up remembering, keeping count,
One:
bearing, God doesnt. Your past is accepted. Let it go. Live in the freedom God hands to you
afresh each day. For this very God who loves us is faithful and just, if we confess our sins, to
forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.iv
In Jesus name we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.
All:

PASSING THE PEACE
The peace of God be with you.
One:
And also with you.
All:
Let us, in sure sign of unity and fellowship with one another, share Gods peace.
One:

OFFERTORY
At this time, an appropriate anthem may be offered here as the elements are brought forward to the table and are
prepared for the service of sacrament.
Holy Communion Liturgy

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING
All present standing.

One:
All:
One:
All:
One:
All:
One:

The Lord be with you

And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord
Let us give God thanks and praise
Its is right to give thanks and praise
For in truth, O God, it is right for us to give thanks and praise. With open hearts, we allow
your praises to part our lips. We are mindful, our proximate God, of your great work of
creation and your presence in all things. We thank you for the beauty and bounty of the
earth, given graciously to us to share with one another. We rejoice that you call the entire
human family to this table of sacrifice. We come in remembrance and celebration of the gift
of Jesus Christ, who came to become that which we are, so that we may more carefully follow
that great example. We bless you, O God, for the guidance and teaching of your Holy Spirit
in your church. We join as brothers and sisters, united around tables throughout the world,
proclaiming your praise, singing:

SANCTUS
All present standing to sing. (The SANCTUS is only to be sung.)

All:

Holy, holy, holy Lord

God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

LITANY OF CONSECRATION AND REMEMBRANCE v
All present may stand or kneel.

One:
All:
One:
All:

For in our Lord, Jesus Christ, all things in heaven and on earth were created,
Things visible and invisibleall things have been created through him and for him.vi
For he is in all things and in him all things hold together
He is the incarnate Word, redeemer, friend, and bread of life, broken for our
brokenness and offered up in our selfishness.

One:

Help us to remember our responsibility to our families and our neighbors, our stewardship to
you, and the work you have given to our hands. Guide us. Awaken us. Energize us for the
massive tasks that lay ahead.

All:

Tender Father and Mother, may your great sacrifice of redeeming love renew us for
loving service and for sacrifice for others. Let us worship here and leave refreshed to
serve. Let us not take of this bread and wine if we do not intend to serve others.

One:

Giver all of things, creation is imbued with your presencegiving of the bounty of the earth
and the fruit of the vine.

All:

For we have been invited to eat freely, yet we have failed in our call to share the
abundance of this table with all those seeking an experience with Christ.

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One:

Said while breaking the bread.

Help us to remember, O God, that on the night when the Lord Jesus was to be betrayed,
took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said:

All:
One:

This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

All:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in

Said while elevating the cup.

In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying:
remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lords death until he comes.vii

One:
All:

Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again

One:

As we anticipate the great feast to come, we seek to foretaste the kingdom of Heaven
through these signs of your love and the great mystery of its power. Come Holy Spirit;
quicken us through the work of grace to be done through this bread and cup. For the
presence of Christ is here with uspresent at this table, ready for all who will meet him here.
We have presented our livesall things we are to you in these gifts. Take them, O God, and
use them to strengthen your universal church and to restore the earth, making all things new
with your abundance of grace.

All:

You are welcomed here, in this place, Jesus, lover of my soul. So, then, I pray the way
you have taught me:

PRAYER OF OUR SAVIOR
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Our Father,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

who art in heaven,

Father and Mother of us all,

hallowed be thy name.

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

on earth as it is in heaven.

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of

Give us this day our daily bread.

the world!

And forgive us our trespasses,

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

as we forgive those who trespass

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our

against us.

hope and come on earth.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

For thine is the kingdom,

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

and the power,

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

and the glory,

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

forever and ever.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

Amen.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,

now and forever. Amen.viii
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CALL TO THE TABLE

One: Come to the table all people of God.
Come, for all is ready.
Thanks be to God.

The bread of life broken for you.

The body of Christ, the living bread.

Taste and see that the Lord is good!

All:

Thanks be to God!

or

All:

GIVING OF THE SACRAMENT
When giving the bread.

One:

When sharing the cup.

The cup of Christ poured out for you.

or

The blood of Christ, the saving cup.

or

The bread of life; eat now and hunger no

The blood of Christ; drink now and thirst
more.
no more.

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
Almighty God, we praise your name, for you have again amply given us of the blessed
One:
benefits of your sacraments. You have satisfied us with the food and drink of eternal life, and
you have blessed us with the power of your grace and mercy. We have been blessed with an
opportunity to offer ourselves to you as a sacrifice of praise. Uplift us, Lord, to serve you and
all humanity, now and forever.
Amen.
All:


i Adapted from Micah 6:9 NRSV
ii Adapted from the United Church of Christ Book of Worship, p. 532
iii Adapted from The Book of Catholic Prayer
iv From the United Church of Christ Book of Worship, p. 534

v Anamnesis is marked as an important part of understanding the power of the sacrament and what God has to offer us

through it. It becomes important to recognize the importance of the priesthood of all believers and our right to consecrate the
elements without the presence of an ordained minister. It embraces the community-oriented aspects of the feast.
vi Colossians 1:16 NRSV
vii I Corinthians 11:23-27
viii From the New Zealand Prayer Book

Holy Communion Liturgy