Easter 2013 The River of Life-Giving Water

GATHERING

 ENTRANCE

Leader: Christ is risen!

All:         Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 REFLECTION

The angel then showed me the river of life-giving water, clear as crystal, which issued from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and flowed down the middle of the streets. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit in every season; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

(Revelation 22:1-2)

 

CANDLE LIGHTING

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: Sing praises to the Eternal One, all you saints,
and give thanks to Love’s holy name.

People: Let us praise the name of the Most High,
whose glory is above earth and heaven.

Leader: This is the day that the Holy One has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

People: The stone that the builders rejected
has become the foundation of our lives,

Leader: The One who gives water as a gift
from the spring of the water of life.

People: This is the work of the Holy One;
it is marvelous in our eyes.

Leader: All who are thirsty, come to the life-giving water.
Come to the river and the tree of life.

All: We give thanks to you, O Beloved, for you are good;
Your steadfast love endures forever.

OPENING PRAYER

HYMN

WORD FOR THE CHILDREN

SILENCE

PRAYERS

COMMON CONFESSION

Leader: Holy River of life and healing,
you invite us to channel your fresh, cleansing water
to wash away the sorrows of the world.

People: Too often we turn aside,
pretending that pain does not exist,
hoping that we are wise enough
to avoid the painful way of the cross.

Leader: We marvel as our hungers are satisfied
by fruit from the tree of life,
but clutch our joy to ourselves,
forgetting that you came to heal the world.

All: Holy God, forgive us when we resist your desire
to carve us into channels of your grace.

 

INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE

Leader: In the power of Christ’s resurrection,
we know the promise of God’s forgiving grace,
a river that washes away the sins of all.
We are forgiven.

All: Amen.

 

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

PRAYER OF DEDICATION AND 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: Holy Source of all our days,
we give you thanks
for the life-giving water of your love,
sparkling in the light of a new creation.

People: We give you thanks for your Holy Child, Jesus,
who lived and died and rose again,
his life flowing on forever
for the healing of the nations.

Leader 2: We give you thanks
for the crystalline clarity of your Holy Spirit,
eternally calling forth new kinds of fruit
from the tree of life.

People: We give you thanks for your holy Church,
the visible Body of Christ on earth,
innumerable, separate streams
pouring into the never-ending river.

 

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 a broken 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.

SHARE THE ELEMENTS

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.  Amen.

SHARED REFLECTIONS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HYMN

BENEDICTION

Leader: Let our lives flow out like crystal streams
watering the tree of life
for the healing of the broken world.

Christ is risen!

All: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.