God be with you. And with you.
Let us pray…
We pray that it is ever so, O God, that when we gather, you are among us,
your spirit guiding nurturing feeding us as we grow into the people you intend us to be.
From creation, you imagined a world of peaceable community, people and animals and earth, cherishing and holding one another.
But from the beginning, we had other ideas, a world that served only us, our people, our kind,
our notions of good and fair.
In your goodness, in your patience, in your love, you continue to call us, to shape us, to recreate us,
to help us see what is possible and to want it as you want it.
We thank you, patient God, and we offer you, again, ourselves, in need of renewal, in want of you.
We thank you as we gather for food, this righteous meal of bread and wine, consecrated by the heinous act of murder and imbued with power to make us whole.
As we gather to eat again, we remember the life that made our lives new, Jesus, your special one, our brother and friend, Jesus, who, when he felt most powerless and felt the storm brewing in the night, gathered with his friends for a meal of grace.
As they ate, he took bread, broke it and gave it to them saying
“this is my body, given for you. Eat in remembrance of me.
Then, he poured the wine, and gave it to them saying:
“this is the cup of a new covenant. Drink in remembrance of me.”
As before, he does once again, offering his life in our lives, his vision to be our vision, his love to pour from us, to make the whole world new.
Bless this bread and cup O God, that we your people may be emmisaries of your love and agents of your divine reign.
Feed us, strengthen us, empower us, console us,
that in all we do, in every act of being human
– in our waking and sleeping, our working and playing,
our marrying and studying, our donating and voting,
our building up and tearing down, our debating and reconciling –
through all the pieces of our lives, your love will shine through.
Renew your covenant O God; renew your people.
We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray…
Our parent in heaven, hallowed be your name.
your reign come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen.
Leader: All is ready: the gifts of God for the people of God. Welcome to the table.