Thanksgiving Communion Liturgy

Chetwynd Shared Ministry

October 8, 2017 

Invitation

 

One:    God be with you.

All:    And also with you.

One:    Lift up our hearts.

All:    We lift them to God.

One:    Let us give thanks to God.

All:    It is right to give our thanks and praise.

We sing thanksgiving to God,

            Creator and Source of all that we see,

                        and all that we cannot see.

We sing thanksgiving to God

            who created darkness and light,

                        day and night;

            who created the earth and seas and sky;

            who created plants and trees and seeds;

            who created sun and moon and stars;

            who created birds and fish and animals;

            who created human beings, women and men, in the image of God;

                        and who looked at all creation

                                    and declared that it was good.

 

We sing thanksgiving to God,

            who led the people to freedom through the wilderness,

                        feeding them with manna and quail,

                        and bringing water from the rock to drink,

                                    in a dry and dusty land;

            and who brought the people to a fruitful and prosperous land.

We sing thanksgiving to God

            who remembered promises to the people through all generations

                        always reminding us of these promises,

                                    and drawing us back to God.

We sing thanksgiving to God,

who, in the fullness of time,

                        took on flesh and came to dwell among us

                                    as the person of Jesus –

                        teaching, healing, and reconciling –

                                    always drawing us back to God.

We sing thanksgiving to God,

            who continues to come to us

                        as the Holy Spirit,

                                    leading us,

                                                comforting us,

                                                            guiding us,

                                                                        and transforming us

                                                                                    into what we are called to be –

                                                                                                children of God.

And so we join our song of thanksgiving

            to the song of all creation

                        as we proclaim God’s glory, saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

As we gather here at this table,

we remember that Jesus,

            on the night before he died,

Gathered with his friends around a table.

We remember that Jesus took a loaf of bread

            and he gave thanks,

            and he broke it,

            and he shared it with everyone who was gathered, saying:

                        “Take and eat.  This is my body, given for you.

                        Each time you do this, remember me.”

We remember that after the meal,

Jesus took a cup of wine,

            and he gave thanks,

            and he shared it with everyone who was gathered, saying:

“Take and drink.  This is the cup of promise in my blood.

                        Each time you do this, remember me.”

We remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,

            and we wait for his coming again

                        and the fulfillment of all creation.

We rejoice in the grace

            that brings us to the table,

                        and allows us to offer ourselves

                                    as the body of Christ for the world.

We celebrate your universal church

            of all times and all places,

                        and the communion of saints, living and dead,

                                    who surround us as a great cloud of witnesses.

And so with the universal church, we proclaim the mystery of our faith,

          saying:

         Christ has died.

         Christ is risen.

         Christ will come again.

Send, O God, your Holy Spirit

            upon these gifts,

            and upon all of us gathered here,

transforming them and us

            into the image and likeness of Christ.

As we eat and drink together,

            make us one in Christ,

                        and make us one with Christ,

so that we might be the light of Christ’s love

                        in the world.

Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,

            in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

            all glory is yours, God most holy,

            now and forever,

Amen

And now we join our voices together in the prayer that Jesus taught, saying:

Our father, who art in heaven,

hallowed by thy name…

(while breaking the bread)

The body of Christ, broken for us.

Thanks be to God for the bread of life.

(while pouring the wine)

The blood of Christ, poured out for us.

Thanks be to God for the cup of blessing.

Distribution

Prayer after Communion:

Holy God,

            as we leave this table,

                        we continue our song of thanksgiving.

We thank you for this meal that we have shared,

            we thank you for your never-failing love,

            we thank you for Jesus Christ, our eternal source of hope,

            we thank you for the Holy Spirit who always draws us to you.

As we leave this table,

            we continue to offer ourselves to you

                        and to your work in the world.

Keep the taste of the bread and the wine

            on our lips and in our hearts

                        so that we will ever sing thanksgiving.

Amen.



(May be reprinted with the following attribution: © 2017 Kate Jones http://katesnextgreatadventure.blogspot.ca/)