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

Christ says, “Come to me, all who are weary.”
We come to the table of grace, where rest does not have to be earned.

Christ is gentle, and does not turn away our tiredness or struggle.
Meet us with kindness, and teach us a gentler way.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for those who have managed everything well,
but bread for those who need to be fed.
Not a prize for the perfect,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come with longing and gratitude, with tiredness and hope.
We come for bread, for rest, for love that meets us gently.

The Peace

Peace is not another task to complete.
Peace is the gift of being received without pretending.
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 delight.
You meet your people in ordinary places,
in conversation and waiting,
in journeys and arrivals,
in laughter, longing, and love.

You know the complexity of our lives.
You know that we do not always do what we hope to do,
or become who we long to be.
You do not meet that truth with judgement.
You meet us with grace.

In Jesus, you came among us with gentleness.
He refused the games of those who were never satisfied.
He welcomed those worn down by judgement and expectation.
He did not demand that people become less human before drawing near.

He said, “Come to me.”
Come with what tires you.
Come with what troubles you.
Come without pretending.
Learn from me,
for my way is gentle
and my heart makes room.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have found welcome after long searching,
with all who have discovered rest without having to earn it,
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 a way of love
that does not add to the weight people already carry.

He did not shame those who struggled.
He did not measure worth by success, certainty, or strength.
He welcomed questions and contradiction,
tired bodies and troubled hearts,
people still becoming.

He called people into a different way of living:
gentle without being passive,
truthful without cruelty,
committed without demanding self-erasure.

At his table, grace was shared before anyone had proved themselves.
Bread was given.
Welcome was real.
Love came close.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
God receives us honestly,
Christ meets us gently,
the Spirit gives us room to become,
and grace is offered before achievement.

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:
honest about struggle,
gentle with one another,
ready to receive grace,
free to offer welcome.

When people are exhausted, do not let us add more demands.
When people are ashamed of their struggles, meet them through our kindness.
When expectations become crushing, help us make room for rest.
When our own lives feel conflicted, hold us with kindness.

Shape us into a people who do not confuse faithfulness with endless effort.
Let this table teach us another rhythm:
bread received with gratitude,
the cup shared without earning,
community that makes room for limits,
and love practised without pretending.

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 receives you as you are.
Rest in the love that holds 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 gentleness and grace,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us without demanding perfection,
and welcomed us without asking us to pretend.

When we are tired, give us permission to rest.
When we are struggling, keep us close to grace.

Send us out to practise a gentler faith –
to honour our limits,
to resist demands that diminish life,
to offer kindness without judgement,
to welcome people honestly,
and to live with grace for ourselves and one another.
God of love,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything within us is resolved,
but because Christ receives us as we are.
We will make room for rest. We will practise gentleness. We will live by grace.