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 calls us beyond keeping score.
We come to the table of grace, where no one has to earn another chance.

We belong to God, and we belong alongside one another.
Teach us to release judgement, honour boundaries, and practise forgiveness with care.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for those who have got everything right,
but bread for people still learning how to live together.
Not a prize for the perfect,
but welcome for those who come as they are.

We come bringing what we can share, trusting there is grace for what we need.
We come for bread, for freedom, for love that helps us begin again.

The Peace

Peace is not pretending harm does not matter.
Peace grows where truth is honoured, dignity is protected, and vengeance loosens its grip.
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 freedom and patient love.
You hear the cry of people under oppression
and call them towards life beyond domination.

When your people came through danger into freedom,
you stayed with them.
We remember their liberation
without delighting in the death of others,
trusting your desire for life, justice, and peace.

In Jesus, you came among us with grace that does not keep score.
He challenged the habit of measuring one another,
warned against judgement without compassion,
and taught forgiveness that does not run out after seven attempts.

He did not deny harm.
He did not ask people to call cruelty acceptable.
He taught a way beyond vengeance,
where truth can be spoken
and life need not remain trapped by what has been done.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who long for freedom from oppression,
with all who are learning the freedom of forgiveness,
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 forgiveness
that is deeper than pretending nothing happened.

He welcomed people without making them prove their worth.
He challenged judgement that treated some people as less worthy.
He called people to release the debts they held over one another
and to practise grace without losing truth.

At his table, bread was shared freely.
No one had to earn their place.

Here is the mystery we celebrate –
God leads people towards freedom,
Christ calls us beyond keeping score,
the Spirit gives wisdom for truth and forgiveness,
and grace makes room for life to begin again.

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:
slow to judge,
truthful about harm,
careful with boundaries,
ready to practise forgiveness.

When anger begins to shape our actions, help us pause before we respond.
When people are judged too quickly, make us generous in understanding.
When harm has been done, give us courage for truth, justice, and repair.
When forgiveness is demanded without safety, help us protect dignity and choice.

Shape us into a people who do not keep defining one another by past wrongs.
Let this table teach us another way:
bread shared freely,
the cup received as gift,
community that makes room for difference,
and grace practised without denying harm.

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 (optional)

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 grace – for you.
Room to begin again.

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

Prayer after Communion

God of freedom and patient love,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us freely,
and reminded us that grace does not keep score.

When we are quick to judge, make us more generous.
When harm is real, help us seek truth without vengeance.

Send us out to practise forgiveness with wisdom –
to honour boundaries,
to protect dignity,
to resist judgement that diminishes others,
and to make room for life beyond old debts.
God of life,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because harm can simply be forgotten,
but because it need not control what comes next.
We will honour truth. We will protect dignity. We will make room for grace.