Gathering at the table

A light has risen in places the world forgets.
We come to the table of Christ – light for the people.

Good news begins on the edges, and it spreads by hope.
Meet us here, and turn us towards your life.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the united,
but mercy for the divided.
Not a prize for the strong,
but bread for those who come as they are.

We come with longing and need, with courage and questions.
We come to be fed, and to be gathered into love.

The Peace

God is our light and our salvation – we need not be afraid.
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 light and liberation.
You lift burdens.
You break the rod of oppression.
You turn mourning towards joy,
and you refuse to leave your people in the shadows.

You are the One we seek –
not as an escape from the world,
but as presence within it,
a steady light when the way is unclear,
a refuge when fear presses in.

In Jesus, you began your good news in hard places.
You called ordinary people into a new way.
You formed community where there had been fracture.
You healed and restored,
and you taught us to live close to your reign of love.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who long for unity and justice,
with all who follow the light into the world’s need,
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.
You reveal your glory not through domination,
but through love that gathers and heals.

Jesus called: “Follow me.”
Not into perfection,
but into transformation.
Not into uniformity,
but into belonging.

He spoke good news to people carrying heavy loads.
He mended what was torn.
He restored dignity.
He brought healing to bodies and minds.
He drew close to those pushed aside –
and taught us to do the same.

He challenged our divisions –
the pride that separates,
the need to win,
the fear that makes enemies.
He offered a different centre:
love that gives itself away.

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:
united in love,
steady in courage,
gentle in strength,
bold in hope.

Where we are divided, make us one.
Where we are afraid, be our light.
Where oppression crushes, make us liberators.
Where sickness and despair linger, make us healers.

Teach us to follow your call into everyday places –
into workplaces and classrooms,
into streets and shops,
into homes and hospital wards,
into all the spaces where your good news is needed.

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.)

Light for you.
Good news 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 light and liberation,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and steadied us with courage.

When we are tempted to divide, teach us love.
When we are tempted to hide, make us brave.

Send us out to follow the light into the world –
to practise welcome,
to seek justice,
to carry healing,
to live as peacemakers.
God of hope,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because the shadows are gone,
but because the light has risen.
We will follow the light. We will practise love. We will make room.