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

The stone is rolled away – and love is alive.
We come to the table of the risen Christ.

The grave has not had the last word.
Meet us with joy, with wonder, and with hope that rises again.

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

We come with alleluias and questions, with amazement and need.
We come for joy, for mercy, for life made new.

The Peace

Peace is spoken into fear – and new life begins.
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 resurrection and new creation.
You are faithful beyond our endings.
You are present beyond our despair.
You bring life where we thought nothing more could grow,
and you make a way where the world has sealed the door shut.

At the dawn, while grief was still fresh
and hope still felt impossible,
you raised Jesus from the dead.
You met the frightened with promise,
the grieving with astonishment,
the weary with life.

You do not glorify suffering,
but you refuse to let suffering have the final word.
You do not deny death,
but you defeat its claim to be ultimate.
You do not abandon the world you love.
You renew it from the inside out.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who sing alleluia through tears and laughter,
with all creation waking to new life,
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 –
loving without reserve,
speaking truth with courage,
sharing bread with friends,
standing with the wounded,
bearing the cruelty of the world without becoming cruel.

He was crucified.
He was buried.
The stone was set in place.
It seemed finished.

But at dawn, the tomb was empty.
The women came in grief and found astonishment.
Fear and joy ran together.
The old story of death’s finality was broken open.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
not escape from the world,
but the renewal of the world.
Not denial of sorrow,
but life rising through sorrow.
Not a private victory,
but good news for all creation.

The risen Christ goes ahead of us –
still wounded, still loving, still calling us by name into hope.

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:
alive in hope,
steadfast in love,
joyful in mercy,
brave in justice.

Where despair has settled, raise new life.
Where fear keeps people hiding, breathe peace.
Where violence still wounds the earth, grow resurrection courage.
Where grief remains close, let hope rise gently.

Make us Easter people –
people who carry good news without denial,
who practise joy without pressure,
who seek justice with renewed strength,
who make room for wonder,
and who trust that love is stronger than death.

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 is risen – for you.
Life 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 resurrection and new creation,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and filled us again with living hope.

When joy comes easily, make us generous.
When joy feels fragile, keep us close to hope.

Send us out as witnesses to resurrection –
to practise mercy,
to seek justice,
to carry peace,
to live with courage and wonder,
and to share the good news that love is alive.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because every wound is healed,
but because death has not had the last word.
We will carry alleluias. We will practise love. We will live in hope.