A SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Adapted from The Iona Abbey Worship Book, revised edition 1991
(A song may be sung)
Leader:
As from the beginning, God makes the world:
All:
Leader:
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Leader:
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Makes it and mothers it, shapes it and fathers it;
Fills it with seeds and signs of fertility,
Fills it with life and with song and variety.
All that is green, deep, blue, and growing,
God’s is the hand creating you.
All that is tender, firm, fragrant, and curious,
God’s is the hand creating you.
All that crawls, flies, swims, walks, or is motionless,
God’s is the hand creating you.
All that speaks, sings, cries, laughs, or keeps silence,
God’s is the hand creating you.
All that suffers, lacks, limps, and longs for an end,
God’s is the hand creating you.
The world belongs to God,
The earth and all its people.
PSALM 8 — CONTEMPORARY
All:
O God, our God, how glorious is your name over all the earth!
Your glory is praised in the heavens.
Praise for you, even from the lips of children and babes,
Stills the enemy and raises a fortress against your foes.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands,
The moon and the stars which you created,
Who are we that you should be mindful of us,
That you should care for us?
You have made us little less than divine
And crowned us with glory and honor.
You have given us care over the works of your hands,
Putting all things into our hands:
All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field;
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
And whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O God, our God,
How glorious is your name over all the earth! AMEN
(Five-minute meditation)
READINGS AND REFLECTIONS
1. A reading from the Christian gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
2. A reading from elsewhere in the Bible or from later Christian writings
3. A reading from another religious tradition
Reflections offered by the people
RECOGNITION OF SHADOW
Leader:
All:
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In the words of the Apostle Paul, love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful.
Love is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.
Love does not keep record of wrongs, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, trusts all things.
Love hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.
Leader:
All:
Leader:
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Holy God, Maker of all,
Have mercy upon us.
Lord Christ, Servant of the poor,
Have mercy upon us.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Life
Have mercy upon us.
Let us in silence remember our own shortcomings.
(Silence)
Leader:
All:
May God grant us wisdom to know ourselves.
And may God forgive us, Christ renew us, and the Spirit enable us to
grow in love. AMEN.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Leader:
All:
Let us continue with our prayers for the life of the world.
You are above us, O God, you are beneath.
You are in air, you are in earth,
You are beside us, you are within.
O God, you are in the betrayed and suffering people of our world,
Just as you were in the broken body of Jesus.
We pray now for all that concerns us
As we come to this table together.
Leader:
Let us offer our own intercessions, both spoken and unspoken.
(Intercessions)
Leader:
Let us conclude with the prayer that Jesus taught us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER — CONTEMPORARY
All:
Loving God, from whom creation flows,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us nourishment this day for body and soul,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
For ever and ever. AMEN.
THE COMMUNION
(All may stand)
Leader:
God tells us in Hindu scripture: “By whichever way you approach
me, so I receive you. All paths lead to me.” (Bhagavad Gita 4:11)
All:
Come, then, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)
Leader:
Here we recall a timeless story: Among friends, gathered round a
table, Jesus took bread, and, having blessed it, he broke it and gave
it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body which was given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
And he gave the cup to his disciples, saying, “This cup is the new
relationship with God. Take this and share it. I shall drink wine with you
next in the coming kingdom of God.”
So now, following Jesus’ example, we take this bread and this wine,
the ordinary things of the world through which God continually
blesses us. And, as Jesus offered thanks for the gifts of the earth,
let us also celebrate God’s goodness.
All:
Blessed are you, O God, for you bring forth
The fruits of the earth and the waters of life
To sustain us each day in body, soul, and spirit.
Leader:
In days of old you gave to your servants Abraham and Sarah
Bread to strengthen their family on their journey,
And wine to make them glad.
All:
You called Moses and his people out of bondage
And refreshed them with food and water in the wilderness.
Leader:
You gave to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus food and drink to share.
All:
And so, too, in every age you have nourished and sustained
All those everywhere who have looked to you for life.
Leader:
Now here at your table
You offer to us bread and wine for the journey
To nourish us as companions on the way.
All:
And so with those who have gone before us,
And with our brothers and sisters beside us,
We join in the song of your unending greatness.
Leader:
Lord Christ, be present with us now
As we do here what Jesus did in an upstairs room.
Breathe your Spirit upon us, O God,
And upon this bread and this wine,
That they may be heaven’s food and drink for us,
Renewing, sustaining, and making us whole,
That we may be your body on earth,
Loving and caring in the world.
All:
The bread of life is given for the life of the world.
Whoever eats it will never hunger.
The water of life flows from the throne of heaven.
Whoever drinks it will never thirst.
Leader:
These are the gifts of God to everyone.
(Words for passing the bread: “This is the bread of life.” For the cup: “This is the water of life.”)
BLESSING AND DISMISSAL
Leader:
Apprehend God in all things,
For God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God
And is a book about God. (Meister Eckhart)
All:
Teach us to know our oneness with all things.
Teach us to grow with each other
and with all living creatures through love.
The blessing of God—Mystery, Companion,
and Flow of Life—be ours,
To renew us, to gird us, and to shape us
That we may be servants to the world,
The world of God’s own making and redeeming. AMEN.
(“Tis the Gift To Be Simple” or some other song may be sung)
Leader:
All:
The peace of God be always with you.
And also with you.
(The people may exchange the peace)