Choose the sections that are appropriate to your context and tradition. For example, if communion is part of a longer service, it may be more appropriate to use only parts of the liturgy.

Gathering at the table

Love is poured out – lavish, tender, and unafraid.
We come to the table of Christ, where love is given freely.

In a world that counts the cost,
Jesus receives the gift of presence and devotion.
Teach us the beauty of love that makes room, and the courage to give ourselves in mercy.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the efficient,
but grace for the weary.
Not a prize for those who have it all worked out,
but bread for those who come as they are.

We come with longing and gratitude, with questions and need.
We come for tenderness, for courage, for love that stays close.

The Peace

Peace is not measured by usefulness – it is the gift of love made present.
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 tenderness and justice.
You do not turn away from the fragile.
You do not despise what the world calls small.
You receive the gifts offered in love,
and you honour the beauty of care.

You are the One whose mercy is precious,
whose people find shelter in the shadow of your wings.
You feed the hungry from your abundance.
You give drink from the river of your delight.
In your light, we find life.

In Jesus, you came among us not as spectacle,
but as presence –
close enough to be touched,
loved enough to be grieved,
vulnerable enough to be anointed for what lay ahead.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have loved in costly ways,
with all who pour out kindness in a harsh world,
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 came close to human life –
to friendship and food,
to tears and touch,
to danger and devotion.

In Bethany, at the table,
love took the shape of extravagance.
A woman poured out perfume.
The room was filled with fragrance.
What some called waste,
Jesus received as beauty.

He did not measure love by productivity.
He did not dismiss tenderness as impractical.
He honoured the gift,
the body that offered it,
and the courage it took to give.

In him, you show us that love is not always efficient.
Sometimes it is costly.
Sometimes it is misunderstood.
Sometimes it is the holiest thing in the room.

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:
tender in mercy,
generous in love,
steady in courage,
faithful in care.

Where the world teaches us to turn away, keep us open.
Where love is mocked as weakness, strengthen us.
Where care is treated as waste, deepen our wisdom.
Where fear keeps us from giving, free us.

Teach us to honour what is beautiful and life-giving.
Give us grace to receive love without suspicion.
Shape us into people who pour out kindness,
who protect what is fragile,
who stay near in the shadowed days,
and who trust that no act of love is lost.

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.)

Grace for the journey.
Love poured out – for you.

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

Prayer after Communion

God of tenderness and grace,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with mercy,
and drawn us deeper into love.

When kindness feels costly, keep us brave.
When tenderness feels fragile, keep us steady.

Send us out through this Holy Week
to honour love wherever it appears,
to practise care without counting the cost,
to stay close in difficult days,
and to carry mercy into the world.
God of faithful love,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because the week will be easy,
but because love has already filled the room.
We will practise tenderness. We will honour love. We will stay near.