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 prepares a place – and calls us into life together.
We come to the table of the risen Christ, who makes room for us.

In troubled hearts and uncertain days, love does not abandon us.
Steady us in trust, and build us into a living home of grace.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the self-assured,
but bread for those who need grace.
Not a prize for the powerful,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come with longing and need, with fear and with hope.
We come for courage, for mercy, for life that holds.

The Peace

Peace is what love gives when the future feels uncertain.
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 refuge and promise.
You do not leave your people without shelter.
You do not abandon us when the way is hard.
You are our safe keeping,
our steady presence,
our hope when the world feels fragile.

You call your people into belonging –
not as isolated stones,
but as a living house,
a holy community,
built together in grace.

In Jesus, you came among us as the way of love,
the truth that does not deceive,
the life that cannot be crushed.
He does not offer escape from the world,
but presence within it –
a place made ready,
a promise that holds,
a life shared with the Holy One.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have trusted you in troubled times,
with all who long for a world shaped by mercy and courage,
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 –
not to confuse or control,
but to make your life known in love.

When the disciples were troubled,
Jesus did not shame their fear.
He spoke peace.
He promised a place.
He offered himself as the way –
not a map of certainty,
but a relationship of trust.

He showed us what God is like:
mercy that makes room,
truth that frees,
love that serves,
life that is given away for the sake of the world.

And when Stephen faced violence and loss,
your Spirit did not desert him.
Even in the face of cruelty,
he entrusted himself to grace.
Here is the mystery we celebrate –
that resurrection life does not remove all danger,
but gives courage, belonging, and hope that remain.

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 trust,
generous in welcome,
brave in witness,
alive in hope.

When our hearts are troubled, hold us.
When fear narrows our vision, widen us in love.
When the truth is costly, keep us courageous.
When the world wounds your people, make us communities of refuge.

Build us together as living stones –
not hard or closed,
but grounded in grace,
ready to shelter,
ready to nourish,
ready to make room.
Shape us into a people who reflect Christ
in mercy,
in justice,
in prayer,
and in practical love.

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.)

A place of grace – for 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 refuge and promise,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and steadied us with hope.

When our hearts are troubled, keep us close to love.
When the way feels uncertain, hold us in trust.

Send us out as people of Easter life –
to make room for others,
to practise courage,
to seek justice,
and to build communities of mercy and peace.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because every question is settled,
but because Christ is preparing room among us still.
We will make room. We will practise mercy. We will live in hope.