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

God hears the cry from the wilderness.
We come to the table of Christ, where no life is forgotten.

Christ tells us we are known, valued, and held.
Teach us courage rooted in love, and faith that refuses fear.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the fearless,
but bread for those who need courage.
Not a prize for the perfect,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come with grief and hope, with questions and need.
We come for mercy, for courage, for life that can begin again.

The Peace

Peace is not pretending all is well.
Peace begins when truth is honoured, dignity is protected, and life is given room.
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 who hears and holds.
You are present in places others abandon.
You are near when people are pushed aside.
You receive the cry that no one else has honoured,
and you make a way where life seems closed.

You do not forget the vulnerable.
You do not turn from the frightened.
You do not bless cruelty or call harm holy.
You meet your people in the wilderness
with mercy that protects,
truth that names what is wrong,
and hope that opens a future.

In Jesus, you came among us as love without fear.
He welcomed those others had pushed aside.
He spoke truth when power threatened.
He taught his friends that every life is known to you,
more precious than fear can measure,
more deeply held than the world can measure.

He called his people to costly faith,
not as harm to seek,
but as love to live with courage.
He led us through death into life,
so that we may no longer be ruled by fear,
but alive to you in grace.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with Hagar and Ishmael,
with all who have cried out and been heard,
with all who have found mercy in the wilderness,
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 showed us what mercy looks like
when fear tries to rule.

He did not make peace by hiding the truth.
He did not ask the vulnerable to carry the comfort of the powerful.
He did not teach his followers to seek suffering.
He taught them to trust the love that holds them
even when the way is hard.

He came close to people others had dismissed.
He honoured those whose voices were ignored.
He named the worth of each life.
He gave courage to the frightened,
dignity to the shamed,
and hope to those left outside.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
God hears the cry,
Christ shares our wilderness,
the Spirit breathes courage,
and God opens life where despair had settled.

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:
attentive to the abandoned,
truthful about harm,
gentle with fear,
alive to God in grace.

When people cry out, make us attentive.
When people are pushed aside, make us brave in welcome.
When fear narrows our compassion, widen our love.
When harm has been hidden, give us courage to seek truth and repair.

Shape us into a people who do not confuse peace with silence.
Let this table teach us how love becomes courage:
bread shared without hierarchy,
the cup shared without shame,
community built without exclusion,
and hope practised where life feels fragile.

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.)

Christ’s love – for you.
Courage for the wilderness.

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

Prayer after Communion

God who hears and holds,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with bread for the wilderness,
and reminded us that no life is forgotten.

When we are afraid, root us in your love.
When others are abandoned, make us attentive and brave.

Send us out to practise courageous love –
to honour every life,
to speak truth without cruelty,
to seek justice without despair,
to protect the vulnerable,
and to practise hope in hard places.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because the wilderness is empty,
but because God is there before us.
We will notice the cry. We will protect dignity. We will choose life.