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

The day is almost over – and still love draws near.
We come to the table of the risen Christ.

On the road, in conversation, in shared bread,
Christ is made known.
Stay with us, and open our hearts to your presence.

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

We come with weariness and wonder, with questions and need.
We come for companionship, for mercy, for hope that rises.

The Peace

Peace is spoken on the road – and recognised in the breaking of bread.
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 resurrection and companionship.
You do not leave us alone with grief.
You do not abandon us to confusion.
You come alongside us –
on the road,
in the questions,
in the long conversation,
in the aching heart.

At evening, while hope still flickered uncertainly,
you drew near to your friends.
You listened.
You stayed.
You opened the story in a new way.
And in the breaking of bread,
their eyes were opened to joy.

You meet us too in ordinary acts –
walking, talking, eating, waiting.
You turn tables into holy ground,
and you make yourself known in shared bread,
in welcome offered,
in hope quietly rekindled.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have recognised you at twilight,
with all whose hearts burn with new life,
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 –
sharing our life,
bearing our pain,
loving us to the end,
and rising beyond the reach of death.

On Easter evening,
two disciples walked the road with sorrow and confusion.
They spoke of shattered hopes and unfinished understanding.
And Christ came alongside them.

He did not rush them.
He stayed with them in the questions.
He listened before he was recognised.
He made himself known not by spectacle,
but by shared bread.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
that resurrection comes close in ordinary life,
that hope may arrive quietly,
that Christ is present where people make room,
break bread,
and walk together through the darkening day.

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:
alive in hope,
gentle in companionship,
steadfast in mercy,
brave in love.

Where hearts are heavy, stay near.
Where hope feels faint, rekindle it.
Where grief has narrowed our vision, open a way.
Where people walk alone, make us companions.

Teach us to recognise you
in the ordinary sharing of bread,
in the stories people carry,
in the roads we walk together,
in the welcome that says, stay with us.
Make us a people of resurrection –
honest about sorrow,
ready for wonder,
and open to your quiet appearing.

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.)

Risen Christ – stay with you.
Hope 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 resurrection and companionship,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and rekindled hope within us.

When our hearts are slow to hope, stay near.
When we are weary on the road, keep us company.

Send us out as people of Easter –
to walk with others in kindness,
to share bread with generosity,
to listen with compassion,
and to carry hope into the darkening places.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because every question is answered,
but because Christ walks with you still.
We will share bread. We will stay near. We will carry hope.