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

We come into the in-between – where grief is real and the future is hidden.
We come to the table of the God who holds us in the waiting.

The stone is still in place. The silence is not yet broken.
Stay with us here, and keep us company in the dark.

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

We come with weariness and longing, with sorrow and with need.
We come for steadiness, for mercy, for love that does not let go.

The Peace

Peace is not the end of sorrow – it is God’s presence in the midst of it.
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 presence and patience.
You are with us not only in joy,
but in the long pauses,
the unanswered prayers,
the hours when we do not know what comes next.

You are the One who stays when words run out.
You do not rush grief.
You do not demand brightness.
You keep vigil with the sorrowing,
and you hold the world in love even when hope feels buried.

You are faithful in the silence.
You are faithful in the hiddenness.
You are faithful when all we can do is wait.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have kept watch through dark nights,
with all who trust your love when they cannot yet see the way,
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 among us –
fully human,
fully vulnerable,
fully given.

He was laid in the tomb.
The work of loving had cost everything.
The friends who remained could do little now
but grieve, remember, and wait.

This day teaches us that faith is not always action.
Sometimes it is staying.
Sometimes it is breathing through the silence.
Sometimes it is refusing to abandon love
even when we cannot yet imagine what comes next.

You are God not only of resurrection morning,
but of this day too –
the day of silence,
the day of absence,
the day when hope seems hidden underground.
And still, you are present.

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 waiting,
gentle in sorrow,
faithful in love,
quiet in hope.

When grief is heavy, hold us.
When silence feels empty, stay near.
When we do not know how to pray, breathe within us.
When hope feels far away, keep a small light alive.

Give us grace for the in-between places –
for the unfinished,
the uncertain,
the unresolved.
Teach us to keep company with one another in tenderness,
to honour sorrow without fixing it,
and to trust that your love is still at work,
even in the hidden places.

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.)

Love holds you.
Mercy for the waiting.

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

Prayer after Communion

God of presence and patience,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and held us in the silence.

When we want easy answers, teach us steadiness.
When we are tired of waiting, keep us close to love.

Send us out through this holy stillness
to stay near to those who grieve,
to honour what is unfinished,
to practise tenderness,
and to trust that you are at work
even when we cannot yet see it.
God of faithfulness,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is resolved,
but because love is still holding the world.
We will wait with hope. We will practise tenderness. We will stay near.