We are full of anticipation
for the season of celebration;
we are poised with gifts and good wishes
to remember the birth of Christ.

Oh help us to notice your presence
in the midst of our festivities –
not in lavish, expensive presents,
but in acts of kindness and love.

There’s pressure to meet expectations;
glossy adverts demand more and more.
Yet you came in such simplicity –
a bundle of love, joy and peace.

Oh help us to notice your presence
in the midst of our festivities –
not in lavish, expensive presents,
but in acts of kindness and love.

May we be like Mary and Joseph,
Responding and birthing your goodness;
unafraid of judgement from others,
following the light of your love.

Oh help us to notice your presence
in the midst of our festivities –
not in lavish, expensive presents,
but in acts of kindness and love.

© Gary Hopkins 2025

Gathering at the table

The promise is near: Emmanuel – God-with-us.
We make space for love to take flesh among us.

Do not be afraid.
We will choose courage, kindness, and trust.

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

We come with longing and gratitude.
We come for mercy and hope.

The Peace

Emmanuel is coming close – in our waiting, in our world.
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 promise and presence.
You come to us in unexpected ways:
in dreams that stir courage,
in signs that point to hope,
in love that refuses to let us go.

You meet us in uncertainty without shaming us,
and you draw near when fear whispers loudest.
You call your people to make room –
not only in our worship,
but in our streets, our tables, our choices, our care.

And so, with all who long for justice,
with all who wait for peace,
with angels and ancestors,
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.
You do not enter the world through dominance,
but through tenderness;
not through coercion,
but through consent and courage.

In the fullness of time, you came among us in Jesus,
born into ordinary life,
held in human arms,
named in love,
God-with-us.

When people were excluded, Jesus welcomed them.
When bodies and lives were treated as disposable, Jesus honoured them.
When fear hardened hearts, Jesus opened a way of peace.

Words of Institution

On the night before he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread;
he gave you 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 you 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 the body of Christ:
tender in strength,
steadfast in mercy,
courageous in love.

Where the world longs for rescue,
be born as justice.
Where we carry hidden wounds,
be born as healing.
Where communities cry out for change,
be born as hope.

Make your Church a people who do not turn away,
a people who make room,
a people who practise welcome as worship.

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.)

Emmanuel – God 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 promise and presence,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and strengthened us with hope.

Send us out with courage that is gentle,
with love that makes room,
with justice that takes flesh in daily choices.
Keep us from fear that hardens,
and form us into a people of welcome,
until the day love is fully born among us.
Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is resolved,
but because God is with you.
We will carry hope. We will practise love. We will make room.