Gathering at the table

A voice says, “Look” – and the world shifts.
We come to the table of Christ made known.

A question is asked: “What are you looking for?”
We come with our longing, our questions, our hope.

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

We come to be fed – and to be called.
We come to see, and to become.

The Peace

Grace is not held back – it is offered, shared, and multiplied.
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 calling and faithful love.
You speak to your people before we have the words for ourselves.
You name purpose where we feel uncertain.
You draw near in patience and mercy.

You call your followers to be light –
not just for a small circle,
but for the widening world.
You lift up those who feel dismissed, overlooked, written off,
and you make strength out of what seems small.

You teach us to wait and to listen –
to notice what is already growing,
to hear the quiet invitation,
to take one honest step at a time.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who have heard a call in the ordinary,
with all who are learning to trust love’s voice,
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 made yourself known –
not through dominance,
but through presence,
not through spectacle,
but through a simple invitation: “Come and see.”

Jesus was pointed out in the crowd,
and people began to follow –
not because everything was clear,
but because something was true.

He asked a question that opens the heart:
“What are you looking for?”
And he offered a place to stay,
a way to belong,
a life to step into.

He called people by name,
and he reshaped their names –
not to control them,
but to free them into who they could become.

You gather us too – saints who are still learning,
people held by grace,
lives being made new,
sent out as light in a world that needs it.

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:
awake to your presence,
steady in love,
faithful in calling,
generous in welcome.

Where we feel unworthy, speak grace.
Where we feel stuck, speak possibility.
Where we feel alone, make us belong.
Where our witness feels small, make it shine.

Teach us to say yes to the next right step –
to follow with humility,
to listen with courage,
to tell the truth with kindness,
to practise justice,
to make room.

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.)

Come and see – grace for you.
Light 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 calling and faithful love,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and steadied us with hope.

When we do not know the way, teach us to follow your lead.
When we are afraid to begin, give us courage to take the next step.

Send us out to live what we have received –
to practise welcome,
to reflect light,
to seek justice,
to tell the truth with kindness.
God of grace,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because everything is settled,
but because you have been called by love.
We will come and see. We will follow with courage. We will make room.