GATHERING
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed. We are confused, but we aren’t depressed. We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Common English Bible (CEB)
CANDLE LIGHTING
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The Holy One calls us to remember the Good News,
to give thanks for the promises of healing and new life.
People: We come to worship God,
carrying our troubles, our confusion, our pain,
trusting that the one who calls us
will mend all that is broken.
Leader: Jesus invites us to set down our burdens,
to take up the cross and follow him.
People: We come to worship the Holy One,
yearning for comfort, for certainty, for love,
trusting the promise that God is with us.
Leader: The Holy Spirit flows
around us and among us and through us,
giving strength and courage for the days ahead.
All: Let us worship the God who calls us.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Holy Creator,
we are troubled by the evils of this world.
People: We often lose our way in the fog,
unable to see the path ahead.
Leader: Over and over, we stumble and fall;
we wonder if the journey is worth the effort.
People: We judge others who do not believe as we do,
forgetting that it is not our place to judge.
Leader: We are confused and discouraged,
uncertain of your call.
All: In this season of recommitment,
help us to renew our promises to you.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: God knows our sins and our fears,
and forgives them all.
The promise of God’s grace rekindles our faith.
All: Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE
INTERCESSION AND PETITION
COMMITMENT
All: O Holy One, we come today
to claim our relationship with you.
We pray for the commitment to grow together,
sharing the gifts you give us with others
here and in the wider world.
Forgive us for the hurt we have inflicted,
and help us forgive those who have hurt us.
Give us strength and discipline
to nurture our relationship with you;
to care for every part of your creation;
to foster justice and be in solidarity with those in need;
to work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
and to respond joyfully when you call,
freely giving our selves as you have shown the way.
We open our hearts to you and your creation
in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
HYMN
THE WORD
SCRIPTURE
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
COMMUNION
PREPARATION
Leader 1: This is the table of the Heavenly Feast,
the joyful celebration of the people of God.
Leader 2: We gather now as one body, joined around the table.
Here we celebrate God’s presence among us
united in Christ’s spirit, broken and whole all at once;
All: Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,
sinner and forgiven; we make one circle of knowing,
believing, rejoicing, being,
as God lights and rests among us.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: God of love and faithfulness,
we give you thanks for each morning,
for the work that you set before us,
for your promise to be with us when we lament.
People: God of justice and peace,
we give you thanks for Jesus,
who taught us how to love our neighbors
as we walk the path to reconciliation.
Leader 2: God of grace and mercy,
we give you thanks for your Spirit,
surprising us with whispers of hope
sounding through our cries.
All: God of all that is and ever will be,
we give you thanks for your church,
the living Body of Christ,
feeding a world that hungers for your presence.
BLESSING THE ELEMENTS
Leader 1: Christ invites everyone to eat the bread of life,
to drink the cup of the new covenant.
Leader 2: Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
You who come to me shall never hunger,
You who believe in me shall never thirst.
Leader 1: On the night of his arrest, Jesus took bread,
and after giving thanks to God, broke it and said,
This is my body,
broken for the healing of the world.
Whenever you eat it, do so remembering me.
Leader 2: After supper, Jesus took the cup and said,
This is the cup of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for all.
Whenever you drink it, do so remembering me.
All: O Holy One, send down your Spirit
that these gifts of bread and cup
may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Unite us with Christ forever
and bring us with the whole creation
to your eternal realm.
SHARE THE ELEMENTS
If you do not wish to receive the elements today you are welcome to join the circle and allow them to pass, or remain in your seat. We serve grape juice in our cups.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
All: God of abundance and mercy,
we give joyful thanks
for your eternal love and healing presence
in our celebration of bread and cup.
Bless this body of Christ
that we may attend faithfully
to our call to be your servants,
with each other and throughout the world.
All: Amen.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Let us go out into the world
filled with new strength and courage,
trusting in the promise
that the Holy One is with us,
and that we are instruments of God’s love.
All: In the name of the one who calls us,
let us greet one another with signs of peace. Amen.
