Gathering at the table

We come with our longing – and with our light.
We come to the table of Christ made known.

A child is carried into the temple,
and the old see the new.
Open our eyes to your glory, and steady our hope.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the untroubled,
but grace for the searching.
Not a prize for the perfect,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come with gratitude and need.
We come for light, for courage, for peace.

The Peace

Peace is not only promised – it is placed into our hands.
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 joyful thing,
to give you thanks, God of welcome and holy fire.
You are the One who comes to your people –
not to flatter, but to refine,
not to crush, but to heal,
not to condemn, but to make things true.

You prepare the way of justice.
You burn away what harms.
You cleanse what has been twisted by greed and fear.
You call your people to integrity –
to hands that do not exploit,
to hearts that do not deceive,
to worship that becomes mercy.

You meet us in the waiting of Simeon and Anna –
in years of prayer and persistence,
in hope that refuses to die,
in the courage to speak blessing when it finally arrives.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have waited and kept faith,
with all who carry light into weary places,
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 entered our life –
flesh and blood, bone and breath,
sharing our vulnerability,
standing with us in everything that is human.

A child was brought to the temple.
A family offered what they could.
An elder took him in his arms and spoke peace.
A prophet spoke hope without fear.

Light was recognised – not in power,
but in tenderness.
Glory was revealed – not in spectacle,
but in a small life held with reverence.

And yet the truth was not sentimental.
A sword would pierce.
Oppression would resist.
Love would be costly.

Still, you did not turn away.
You came close,
you shared our struggle,
you became mercy in a world that wounds,
so that we might be made free.

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 for the world the body of Christ:
steady in hope,
gentle in courage,
truthful in love,
bright with mercy.

Where worship has become hollow, refine us.
Where religion has been used to harm, heal us.
Where power has grown cruel, confront it.
Where the vulnerable are dismissed, make us attentive.

Give us Simeon’s tenderness –
to receive what you are doing now.
Give us Anna’s persistence –
to keep showing up, speaking hope, blessing the world.
Give us the courage to carry light,
even when it costs.

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.)

Light for you.
Peace 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 welcome and holy fire,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and lit hope within us again.

When we are weary of waiting, strengthen us.
When we are tempted to settle for less than love, refine us.

Send us out to carry light into the world –
to practise mercy,
to seek justice,
to speak peace,
to honour dignity.
God of faithfulness,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is resolved,
but because light has been placed in your hands.
We will carry light. We will practise love. We will make room.