Gathering at the table

A year turns – and love remains.
We come to the table of God-with-us.

We do not know what this year will hold,
but we come held by mercy,
called into hope,
and invited to begin again.
Meet us in what is real, and bless what is becoming.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for those who have it together,
but grace for those who are trying.
Not a prize for the strong,
but bread for those who come as they are.

We come with gratitude and fear, with hope and grief.
We come for courage, for healing, for peace.

The Peace

Peace is not a promise that nothing will hurt –
it is God’s nearness in everything that comes.
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.

(Share peace in ways that honour boundaries – words, a nod, a wave, a hand on heart.)

The Great Thanksgiving

The Spirit is here.
The Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the God of love.

Let us give thanks to the Holy One.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is right, and a faithful thing,
to give you thanks, God of beginnings and belonging.
You were with us in the year behind us –
in joy and in sorrow,
in what we managed and what we did not,
in what we celebrated and what we survived.

You go with us into the year ahead –
not as pressure, but as presence,
not as demand, but as grace,
not as fear, but as love that steadies the heart.

You meet us in ordinary days and tender nights,
in work and rest, in change and uncertainty,
in homes that are full and homes that are quiet,
in hospital rooms and kitchen tables,
in crowded streets and lonely walks.

And so, with all who are beginning again,
with all who are making it through,
with angels and ancestors,
we sing the song of heaven:

Holy, holy, holy One,
breath of all that lives, fire of all that loves,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes to heal and to set free.
Hosanna in the highest.

Thanksgiving and story

Blessed are you, Holy One.
In Jesus you made your home among us –
entering our days, sharing our time,
showing us how love walks through the world.

Jesus welcomed the excluded.
Jesus touched the untouchable.
Jesus told the truth when it was costly.
Jesus forgave, healed, and fed people –
again and again, as if grace has no limit.

In him, you show us what it means to begin again:
to turn towards mercy,
to choose repair,
to practise justice,
to live as people of hope.

Words of Institution

On the night before he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread;
he gave thanks, broke it, and said:
“Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

When the meal was ended,
he took the cup;
he gave thanks, and said:
“Drink from this, all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.”

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Prayer of the Spirit

Pour out your Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and cup.
Make them for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be the body of Christ:
steady in love,
gentle in strength,
brave in compassion,
faithful in hope.

Where this year holds uncertainty, give courage.
Where this year holds grief, give comfort.
Where this year holds anger, give justice.
Where this year holds change, give steadiness.

Teach us to begin again with small, faithful choices –
to speak kindness,
to tell the truth,
to make room,
to share what we have,
to practise peace.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours,
God of promise and presence,
now and always.
Amen.

The Prayer Jesus taught

As Jesus taught us, we pray:
(Use your community’s preferred wording/version.)

Breaking the bread

We break this bread
to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.

The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

Sharing the bread and cup

(Words such as these may be used during the distribution.)

God-with-us – grace for you.
Courage for the journey.

(If people receive a blessing instead of the elements: “May Christ be close to you; may love hold you.”)

Prayer after Communion

God of beginnings,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and steadied us with hope.

When we are tempted to rush, teach us patience.
When we are tempted to despair, give us courage.

Send us out into this new year with open hands –
to practise welcome,
to seek justice,
to choose repair,
to carry peace.
God-with-us,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is certain,
but because love goes with you.
We will begin again. We will practise love. We will make room.