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Ash Wednesday Communion

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Responsive Invitation to the Table (from Isaiah 58)

L: We try, God knows, we try.
We show up at church, hoping God will notice..
We study Scripture, pretending god is reading aloud to us;
we put on those masks to show everyone
how proper we are,
how law-abiding,
how religious;
and we wonder – does God even care?
P: Not when we clench our fists in anger,
rather than opening them in love;
not when we work people too hard,
and pay them too little;
not when we speak bitter and harmful words
to those we are given to love.
L: So tonight, as we begin our Lenten fast,
God offers us a feast. Why?
So that the broken bread will strengthen us
to break the chains of injustice,
to take the burden of poverty off our neighbors,
to stop trying to control those around us,
to fix a meal for the hungry.
P: God offers us a feast
so that the cup of grace will free us
to take coats out of our closets
and wrap them around shivering shoulders;
to offer shelter to the homeless
without judging them;
to spend more time with our families
and less on the internet.
L: So, come to this Table and eat.
Then, you will see the light God offers to your darkness;
then, you will find the path God calls you to walk;
then, you will discover God waiting to help you,
even before you say a word.
P: We will come to this Table and feast.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

L: People of God, the Lord be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: People of dust, lift up your hearts to God.
P: We lift them up to the One who created us.
L: People of ashes, give thanks to the Lord our God.
P: Praise and thanks are offered to the One who restores us to life.

Now is the right time to praise you;
now is the moment to sing your praises,
Holy God of Creation.
You formed us to live in joy
and peace with you,
but we tore your heart
when we chose our desires
over your dreams for us.
We prefer to swim in the cesspool of the world
than to be cleansed in your living waters.
We hunger more for the adulation of others
than for the quiet intimacy of your grace.
Yet you did not turn away from us
but remained true to your covenant,
calling us to return in the words
trumpeted by the prophets;
inviting us to gather in your kingdom,
entreating us to accept your overflowing love.

Therefore, we glorify you,
joining our voices with those
who had wandered far from you,
but who were brought home;
and with those who seek you now
in this time and place:

(Taize song “Bless the Lord”)

Holy are you, Steadfast Love,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,Bread of Life.
Considered a pretender to David’s throne,
he is your heart’s true Son.
Taking on the poverty of the human spirit,
he shared the abundance of your heart;
weeping over our broken relationships,
he reconciles us with your saving joy;
having nothing he could call his own,
he gives us more than we ever need;
dying like a common criminal,
he gives us life,
releasing us from the grip of sin and death.

Preparing to journey with him once again,
we remember the mystery
of his faithful obedience to your heart:

(Taize song “Jesus Christ, Bread of Life”)

Holy Spirit,
Heart of Compassion:
as the ashes of our humanity
are placed upon your baptismal seal,
so the brokenness of our lives
is placed on the Table of grace,
so the bread might make us whole,
and the cup might fill us with hope.
Then, in your wisdom,
may we turn to serve others;
in your joy,
may we bear the burdens of others;
in your grace,
may our love overflow to others.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the community of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor are yours,
God of holiness,
now and forever. Amen.

 

The Breaking of the Bread
The Sharing of the Cup
(while receiving communion, you are invited to sing the Taize song,
“Eat This Bread”)

Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.

a communion prayer for Christmas Eve

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submitted by Rev. Andy James, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Whitestone, New York

(This communion prayer immediately follows the singing of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and so alludes to some of its phrases.)

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Lord, we greet you this happy night,
for you have been at work in our world throughout all time.

You made all things and called them good.

You claimed your people Israel,
freed them from the bondage of Egypt,
and journeyed with them through the wilderness to the promised land.

You sent prophets to call your people back to you.

Then in the fullness of time you sent your Son Jesus,
Immanuel, born the King of Angels,
your Word in flesh appearing.

He was one of us and lived with us,
giving up all his glory for our sake to make us whole.

And yet you raised him up again
to overcome the power of death and live a new life.

Still we wait for the day when we too will share the fullness of life in him and with him.

And so with the faithful of all the ages, we sing the praise and glory of your name:

(all sing “He Came Down,” Cameroon/WGRG The Iona Community)

And so, O God, come among us tonight.

Show us your presence in this bread and this cup,
and make this bread we break and this cup we bless the body and blood of Christ.

By the power of your Holy Spirit,
unite us with Christ and all who share this feast,
just as you send us out to be his presence in and for your world.

Give us courage to be your people,
to show your justice, grace, mercy, peace, and love,
and to be a part of your transformation of our world
until the day when the baby whose birth we celebrate tonight
comes again in peace
and we sing your praise and glory forever.

Amen.

Opening & invitation for advent communion

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from Rev. Christopher Harrison, Pastor of Glendale Presbyterian Church, Glendale, CA.

Opening:

A voice cries out in the wilderness,

Prepare the way of the Lord,

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

All who are waiting, Hear!

All who hope, Listen!

The promise has been breathed into the fabric of history and

Its fulfillment is at hand:

The lonely will be comforted,

The orphan will be championed,

A light will shine in the darkness,

The lost will be searched for and will be found.

The path of salvation will be restored.

See, O people,

See the face of our Savior.

“The Lord’s glory will appear,

and all humanity will see it together;

the Lord’s mouth

has commanded it.”

Invitation:

If in the depths of your spirit you are crying out, “Come thou long expected Jesus;”

This table has been laid out for you.

For those who sing, “born to set your people free,” and desire to be set free;

The table of the Lord has a place for you.

If your heart aches to be released from fear and sin,

Receive the bread of Heaven and the cup of Salvation.

Those who find their rest in Jesus Christ,

are welcome here,

The feast of communion is prepared for you.

Come, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Easter 7A Communion Prayer

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Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church

Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe,
for you have kept your promises.
In the beginning, you called for yourself a people and you promised them a home.
Though it took many generations,
and though they were separated from their home by water and a desert,
you brought your people to a good land.
When your people turned away from you,
you promised us you would come among us.
In your Son Jesus we see you and your love,
living and real and for us.
He showed us how to follow you,
eating with sinners, touching the outcast,
loving all.
After his resurrection,
he told us to wait for your calling and your power.
He promised us that you would go with us as we proclaim the good news
that you have triumphed over death,
that love has the last word.
And now we wait to feel again the movement of your Holy Spirit,
giving gifts and expecting us to use them.
We give you thanks for your unending love for us,
and for this table,
where you have prepared a feast.
As we come to this meal, may we be made one with each other and with you.
Pour out your Spirit again on us and on these gifts of bread and wine,
show us a glimpse of your heavenly banquet.
Make this table the meeting place of earth and heaven,
that together we might be strengthened to go out
to be your witnesses in this place and even to the ends of the earth.
We pray in the name of our Risen Lord Christ, who taught us to pray together…

Sing a new song–Sanctus et Benedictus

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Here are several sung Sanctus/Benedictus texts, set to familiar tunes. Submitted by Carl Wilton.

Aberystwyth (“Jesus, Lover of My Soul”)…

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and God of might:
heav’n and earth are full, this day,
of your glory come our way.
Blessed is the one who comes
in your name to lead us home
to the place where we may sing
glad hosannas to our king!

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and God of might:
heav’n and earth are full, this night,
of your glory, beaming bright.
Blessed is the one who comes
in your name to lead us home
to the place where we may sing
glad hosannas to our king!

Love Unknown (#76 “My Song Is Love Unknown”)

Holy, holy, holy, Lord, great God of pow’r and might:
The heavens and the earth are filled with glory bright.
Hosanna is our grateful song
To him who in the Lord’s name comes!

St. Kevin (#115 “Come Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain”)

Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of pow’r and might,
Heav’n and earth are full this day of your glory bright
Glad hosannas now we raise, raise them in the highest
To the one who in God’s name comes to dwell beside us.