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 meets people in a deserted place, and does not send hunger away.
We come to the table of grace, where compassion becomes bread.

God meets us in struggle and does not let us go.
Bless us with courage, and make us generous with what we have.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for those who have never struggled,
but bread for those who need strength.
Not a prize for the perfect,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come with hunger and hope, with questions and need.
We come for bread, for blessing, for love enough for this day.

The Peace

Peace is not turning away from hunger or grief.
Peace begins when compassion becomes shared bread and practical care.
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 compassion and enough.
You hear the prayer for justice.
You stay close through the long night.
You meet your people in struggle,
not with easy answers,
but with presence, blessing, and a future still unfolding.

You are faithful to covenant and promise.
You remain faithful to Israel, the people of covenant,
and do not bless any story that turns kin into enemies.
You call us to humility before your faithfulness,
and to compassion that refuses to make enemies of others.

In Jesus, you came among us as love made practical.
After grief, he sought quiet,
yet when the crowd came with need,
he responded with compassion.
He did not treat hunger as someone else’s problem.
He took what was offered,
gave thanks,
blessed and broke the bread,
and gave it to his friends to share.

All ate and were filled.
Fragments were gathered.
Nothing was wasted.
Need was not denied,
and love became enough in the sharing.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with Jacob in the night,
with all who cry for justice,
with all who hunger for bread and dignity,
with all who have found blessing in hard places,
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 showed us compassion
that does not stay as feeling,
but becomes practical care.

He did not send the hungry away.
He did not treat the crowd as an interruption.
He asked what was already there,
received it with gratitude,
blessed it, broke it, and shared it.

In his hands, little became enough –
not because need was imaginary,
not because scarcity was harmless,
but because love was organised for sharing.

He met honest struggle with blessing.
He held grief without turning away.
He fed hungry bodies
and gathered people into a sign of your generous life.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
God stays with us in struggle,
Christ shares bread in deserted places,
the Spirit helps compassion become practical,
and love works for enough for all.

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:
honest in struggle,
practical in compassion,
faithful in sharing,
alive to your generous love.

When people are hungry, make us practical.
When grief is present, make us gentle.
When struggle lasts through the night, keep us held in love.
When communities are divided, keep us from treating others as less than human
and call us back to shared dignity.

Shape us into a people who do not send need away.
Let this table teach us another way:
bread shared without fear,
the cup shared with dignity,
community shaped by generosity,
and care practised with courage.

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.)

Bread of life – for you.
Love enough for this day.

(If people receive a blessing instead of the elements: “May Christ be close to you; may love hold you.”)

Prayer after Communion

God of compassion and enough,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with the bread of life,
and taught us not to send need away.

When we struggle, stay close to us in love.
When our neighbours are hungry, make us practical and brave.

Send us out to practise generous care –
to share what we have,
to seek justice without dehumanising,
to gather what might be wasted,
to honour hunger as real,
and to work for enough for all.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because every struggle has ended,
but because love can still be shared.
We will stay with struggle. We will share bread. We will seek enough for all.