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

Jacob said, “Surely God is in this place.”
We come to the table of Christ, trusting that God is here.

Hope is sometimes hidden, and growth takes time.
Teach us patience, courage, and love that does not rush to judge.

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

We come with questions and hope, with longing and need.
We come for bread, for presence, for grace that holds us.

The Peace

Peace begins when we refuse to discard one another.
Peace grows where truth is held with patience and care.
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 presence and promise.
You meet your people in unexpected places:
under open sky,
in restless nights,
in lonely spaces,
in moments when the future feels uncertain.

You are present before we know how to name you.
You are faithful before we know how to trust you.
You bless the places we thought were empty,
and call us into hope larger than fear.

You know us in love.
You receive the truth of who we are
with tenderness, honesty, and grace.
You hold creation in its groaning,
and keep labouring for life
even when hope is not yet fully born.

In Jesus, you came among us as presence made close.
He told stories of fields where life and harm grew together,
and warned against tearing up what we do not fully understand.
He taught patience that still acts with care,
wisdom that does not dismiss others,
and hope that trusts your life-giving work.

He stayed close to those who were anxious, pushed aside, or afraid.
He gave himself in love,
and through his rising opened a future
where suffering does not have the last word.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with Jacob in the night,
with creation longing for freedom,
with all who have found you present in unexpected places,
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 is patient, truthful, and full of hope.

He did not divide people too quickly
into those beyond hope and those worthy of care.
He did not teach his followers to uproot others in your name.
He knew that judgement without love can cause harm,
and that growth often happens in ways we cannot control.

He welcomed people still changing.
He challenged what diminished life.
He made room for those others had dismissed,
and trusted your Spirit to work beneath the surface.

At his table, grace was shared in the middle of unfinished lives.
Bread was given.
Love came close.
Hope was planted.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
God is present in this place,
Christ meets us in unfinished lives,
the Spirit groans with creation and gives hope,
and grace grows before we know what it will become.

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 your presence,
patient with what is unfinished,
careful in judgement,
alive with hope.

When people feel alone, help us offer faithful care.
When harm is real, give us courage to respond with wisdom.
When we are tempted to discard others, call us back to love.
When hope feels hard to reach, keep us open to the life you are growing.

Shape us into a people who can wait without giving up,
act without cruelty,
and hope without pretending all is well.
Let this table teach us another way:
bread shared in trust,
the cup received as grace,
community built with patience,
and love practised in unfinished 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.)

God is in this place.
Grace for lives still becoming.

(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 promise,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and reminded us that hope can grow in hidden ways.

When we feel alone, help us trust that you are near.
When we are impatient, teach us careful love.

Send us out to practise patient hope –
to honour unfinished lives,
to respond to harm without dehumanising,
to make room for growth,
to seek justice with tenderness,
and to trust your presence in unexpected places.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is resolved,
but because God is present here.
We will wait with hope. We will act with care. We will make room for life.