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 gathers us with a voice of love and calls us into life.
We come to the table of the risen Christ, who makes room for us.

There is a gate that opens not into fear, but into freedom and care.
Lead us into life in all its fullness, and teach us to trust your mercy.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the self-sufficient,
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 gratitude and need, with weariness and hope.
We come for safety, for mercy, for life renewed.

The Peace

Peace is what love looks like when people are given room to live.
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 care and abundance.
You gather your people and do not leave them scattered.
You feed, protect, and sustain.
You prepare a table in the presence of all that would diminish life,
and you make room for joy.

You are the One who calls us into community –
into shared bread,
shared prayer,
shared resources,
shared gladness.
You teach us that resurrection life is not solitary,
but a life of belonging, generosity, and praise.

In Jesus, you came among us as the good shepherd and the open gate.
Not to trap or control,
but to lead into freedom.
Not to take from us,
but to give life in abundance.
He knows his own,
calls by name,
and stands between the vulnerable and all that would harm them.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have found shelter in your mercy,
with all who hunger for a world shaped by care and justice,
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 –
risen, present, and still gathering your people in love.

He spoke of sheepfold and gate,
of thieves and strangers,
of danger and discernment.
He did not glorify dependence or demand loyalty without discernment.
He spoke of trust that grows where there is real care,
and of abundant life that resists all that steals, kills, and destroys.

He gathered communities around shared bread and shared hope.
He made space for people to belong,
to be known,
to be nourished,
to become more fully alive.

This is the mystery we celebrate –
that Christ is both welcome and protection,
both host and shepherd,
both the One who gathers us
and the One who leads us into life.

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:
gentle in care,
steadfast in mercy,
brave in justice,
alive in hope.

Where people feel scattered, gather them.
Where people feel unsafe, protect them.
Where life is diminished by greed or fear, restore abundance.
Where communities are wounded, teach us how to share life again.

Shape us into a people who recognise your voice
in kindness,
in truth,
in mercy,
in justice that protects the vulnerable.
Make us a community of resurrection life –
ready to pray together,
to share what we have,
to praise with gladness,
and to make room for one another.

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.)

Life in abundance – for you.
Mercy 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 care and abundance,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and drawn us deeper into life.

When fear narrows us, lead us into freedom.
When we are tempted to cling to what we have, teach us to share.

Send us out as people of resurrection life –
to practise generosity,
to protect the vulnerable,
to nurture belonging,
and to carry your peace into the world.
God of mercy,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because every danger has passed,
but because Christ is gathering you into life.
We will share what we have. We will practise mercy. We will make room.