Celebrant: God, you are with us.

People: You are always with us.

Celebrant: May we open our hearts.

People: May we know your presence.

Celebrant: In thanksgiving,

People: And in deepest honor.

Celebrant: Therefore, with people of every nation, tribe and language, with the whole Church throughout the ages, we bring ourselves: all that we are, and all that we are not, joyfully giving thanks and singing:

 

All: ( Sanctus)

 

Celebrant: Holy God, we honor you in whom our lives are founded, and in whom our futures lie. We remember and honor also the human searching over the centuries that has perceived your presence in life, and your meaning for all of life.

Above all we honor Jesus, our Christ, whose life and death reveal to us, as his resurrection, the full nature of your being and the potential nature of ours.

We remember that, on the night before his death, Jesus, as he’d always done, gathered his friends for a common meal. He took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread and gave some to each one, saying: “Take, eat: This is my body given for you and for everyone. Do this in remembrance of me.”

After supper he took a cup of wine, and, when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my blood which is shed for you and for everyone. Drink this in remembrance of me.”

In light of this, we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

 

All : Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ’s spirit renews our lives.

 

Celebrant: Holy God, may our hearts and minds be alive to what is sacred in these symbols of bread and wine. May they open us to your guidance and to your love for us, for all humankind, and for all life on this earth. This is our hope, our common will, and the expression of our love and trust in Jesus, our Christ.

 

Celebrant: And now, in the spirit of Christ’s teaching, we pray:

(Lord’s Prayer – please use alternate version on p. 364 in BCP – right hand side)

Celebrant: (Breaks the bread) Christ has died and lives for all.

People: May we not forsake him.

Celebrant: These are God’s gifts,
Take Jesus our Christ into your hearts.

Celebrant: This bread: the body of Christ.
This wine: the blood of Christ.

 

Communion of the People

(All who seek God or are drawn to Christ are welcome to receive …..etc)

 

Post Communion Thanksgiving

Eternal, loving God, we thank you for this simple common meal that brings the spirit and reality of Christ into our hearts, and brings us closer to you.

May our lives be inspired by your love, and may your love touch others through us

All: Amen.

 

The Blessing

Celebrant: Life is short, and we do not have too much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind, and the blessing of the one who made us and loves us and goes before us be upon you and all those whom you love, this day and always, in the name of the one holy, living and true God, and of Jesus Christ our Savior and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Dismissal

Celebrant: Let us forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit!

People: Thanks be to God.