Prelude:
[Silence,
or music, ending with the ringing of the meditation bell.
All
stand at the ringing of the bell.
The
candle or chalice shall be lit.]
Introit:
[One
or more of these sentences may be read or chanted by individuals or by
the whole assembly:]
1)A
hungry people listen not to reason, nor care for justice, nor is
bent by any prayers. (Seneca)
2)So
many people in the world are hungry that God cannot appear to them except
in the form of bread. (Gandhi)
3)I
will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Eternal.
(Psalm 116)
4)Bread
is not given just so that we can eat of it, but so that we can recognize
that others do not have bread, and thereby give them of our portion.(Meister Eckhart)
5)Let
everyone that is thirsty come, and take the water of life freely. (The
Revelation of John)
6)A
loaf is an easy thing, but still I find myself hungering for fare unseen.
(Ruth Mason Rice)
7)I
bear the wine, holiness in a vessel, the sempiternal
silence, personal and brooding. (Annie Dillard – adapted)
8)You
crown the year with bounty,
Abundance flows wherever you pass;
The meadows are dressed in flocks,
The valleys are clothed in wheat;
They shout for joy; they also sing. (Psalm 65)
Song
or Hymn
Prayer
of Approach
ALL: By
bread we live, with wine we rejoice,
Without bread we perish, without the fruit of the vine our lives
are sadder.
Therefore we pray for bread that we may live, and that all people
may live;
And for wine that we may rejoice, and that all people may rejoice.
We do not ask that our troubles be swept away,
But that you, Spirit of Love, move with us in them.
Grant us bread, O Life of Life, and grant us the fruit of the vine,
that we may taste your peace.
Amen.
Invocation:
RIGHT:
Spirit of Justice, Way of Love,
LEFT:
Forever absent, forever full,
We come to this table in the midst of your people
to partake of your presence
through the fruits of the earth;
To share your power by the work of our hands,
To reap your harvest everlasting
in the human heart.
Fill our emptiness where we hunger,
Empty our surfeit where we overflow,
And by your grace, let us be servants of one another,
Bringers of peace to all the earth,
And bearers of joy and love to all Earth’s children,
Amen.
ALL: Amen.
[The
meditation bell is rung.]
Focus
on Our Limitations:
9)Despite
our glory, we are yet frail
Creatures bound to history and place,
Subject still to errors and limitations.
Let us speak to one another of our common struggle to be whole.
General
Confession:
ALL:We
speak of love: sometimes we are loving; sometimes
we are not.
We speak of peace: sometimes we are peaceful; sometimes we are not.
We seek community, and may find conformity and alienation;
We seek integrity, and may find ourselves fragmented.
Sometimes we are lonely; sometimes we are lost.
10)Search
me, O Eternal, and know my heart.
Test me, and know my thoughts;
See if there be mistaken ways in me,
And guide me in the Way everlasting. (Psalm 139)
Silence
for a time
Healing
LEADER:
The mystery is that we are connected,
even when we feel apart;
Let us make word and deed one now,
as we remember the ancient words…
11)If
you are bringing your gifts to the altar,
and there remember that your neighbor has something against you,
Leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.
First be reconciled with your neighbor, and then come and offer your
gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)
Peace
Greeting
[A
time to greet your neighbor in peace, with a handclasp, words, or embrace,
as appropriate.
The
meditation bell is rung again.
Here
there may be a collect or prayer for illumination, if desired.]
First
[A
lesson from the scriptures of the world, if desired.]
Anthem
or Canticle
[If
desired.]
Second
[A
lesson from the writings of our own time, if desired.]
*Song
or Hymn
Sermon
or Homily
*Affirmation:
[Use
one of the following:]
Leader:
Let us affirm together:
ALL:
|
We
look to the future, a future to be made;
A church whose creed is truth, whose worship is love; A
society full of industry, wisdom, and the poetry of life; A
state with unity among all, with freedom for each; A
church without tyranny,
Shall
this ever become fact?
(Theodore
Parker, adapted) |
OR:
Ours
is a faith taught by no priest but by our beating hearts;
(Mary
Ann Evans – “George Eliot) |
|
OR:
From
the events of our lives come the songs of our hearts,
From
the broken places of the spirit come our anthems of praise, From
the deep silence of the soul comes the solace of peace, From
our offerings of love come new shapes of the divine, From
the community we share comes the promise of tomorrow. (Duke
T. Gray) |
OR:
We believe in knowledge, for there is no help in ignorance; We
believe in reason, for without it humankind surrenders
We
believe in compassion, for revenge and hatred destroy the spirit; We
believe in community, for no person’s potential can be
We
believe in love, for it is life’s most creative gift. (Source
Unknown) |
|
OR:
We affirm the unfailing renewal of life, Rising from the earth, and reaching for the sun, all living creatures shall fulfill themselves. We
affirm the steady growth of human companionship.
(Leonard
Mason) |
OR:
Though aware that our knowledge is incomplete, our truth partial, and our love imperfect, we believe that new light is ever waiting to break into our hearts to enlighten our understanding, that there is mutual strength in willing cooperation, that the bonds of love keep open the gates of freedom, prepare the way of justice, and ensure the path of peace. (Napoleon
Lovely, adapted by Duke Grey) |
[The
bell is rung.]
[Confessional
Section optionally here.]
Communion
[Celebrants
go to the table at this time.]
Offertory
Leader:
Let us give together that we may rejoice in the common life our gifts
sustain.
[
Here
the bread is brought to the table, along with flasks of wine and juice.]
Offertory
Anthem
Offertory
Response
[Please
stand and Sing (HS #507)]
Spirit
of Truth, of Life, or Power,
We
bring ourselves as gifts to thee;
O bind
our hearts this sacred hour
In
faith and hope and charity.
[Remain
Standing.]
Invitation
Leader:
We gather at this table…
ALL: To
celebrate our community, and our communion with sacred sun and soil, and
the spirit which sustains us all.
12)The
breaking of bread is a sign of our community. The sharing of the fruit
of the vine is a mark of our communion. We enact here a model of action
which can redeem the world.
13)We
share this food and drink as a visible sign beyond the spoken word, as
an act of power and empowerment.
14)We
partake of this food and drink as a sign of our covenant with all humanity,
as an expression of our sacred concern for one another, as a symbol of
our commitment to live in peace with all beings.
15)As
we prepare this table of life and unity, may we join our hearts with those
who have so loved the world that they have been willing to live and die
in its behalf.
Leader:ALL
ARE WELCOME AT THIS TABLE, without regard for class or creed, belief or
unbelief, for the community we share is larger than these.
ALL: Let
us render thanks for life!
Leader:Let
our hearts be given wing;
All:And
let us keep the feast!
Proper
Preface
[Here
choose words that are suitable for the season or special day or theme when
the service is being held. Some suggestions:]
|
For
Maundy Thursday or Easter or Christmas:
At this time we remember the word of the Rabbi Jesus of |
|
At
Passover:
On
the night following their deliverance from slavery to Pharaoh, the Children
of Israel shared a meal of unleavened bread to mark their release from
bondage. We remember their struggles and their victories.* *In
both of these instances, the blessing of the bread should be preceded by
the Hebrew form: Baruch atoh, Adonai, elohenu, melekh
ho-olam, hommotseelechem
min ho-oretz. And
the blessing of the wine by: Baruch atoh, Adonai, elohenu, melekh
ho-olam, borayp’reehagofen. (These
may be spoken or chanted.) |
|
At
Thanksgiving:
Eternal Spirit of Justice and Love, at this season of Thanksgiving we would be aware of our dependence on the earth and on the sustaining presence of other human beings both living and gone before us. As we partake of bread and wine, may we remember that there are many for whom sufficient bread is a luxury, or for whom wine, when attainable, is only an escape. Let our thanksgiving for Life’s bounty include a commitment to changing the world, that those who are now hungry may be filled and those without hope may be given courage. Amen |
|
General:
From
the dawn of history, human beings have given thanks with offerings of bread
and wine, beer and barley cakes, rice and mead, to mark their dependence
on the earth and on the powers that sustain it. |
Sanctus
Leader:Holy!
Holy! Holy!
Heaven
and earth are holy and good.
All:Holy
is peace. Holy is truth. Holy is love.
[Be
seated]
The
Great Thanksgiving
Leader:Great
Mystery of Life, source of all,
whose demands cannot be answered, whose answers cannot be demanded:
16)We
give thanks for sun and moon, dark night and day, rain and clouds, fertile
field and sky, springtime and harvest, growth and rest.
ALL: We
praise you, spirit of nature, and rejoice in all your works.
17) We
give thanks for nations and races, events and institutions, struggles of
purpose and leaps of fancy, conflicts and discovery, visions and dreams.
ALL: We
praise you, spirit of history, and rejoice in your promise and hope.
18)We
give thanks for judgment and forgiveness, indignation and acceptance, testing
and challenge, tenderness and anger, the gift of imagination and the still,
small voice within.
ALL: We
praise you, spirit of conscience, and rejoice in your justice and call.
Leader:We
remember now all who have lived and died and shared this world with us:
saints and sinners, martyrs and heroes, prophets and healers, ordinary
men and women and children, the famous and the forgotten, the nameless
and the numberless
19)We
especially call to mind those who are sick and in distress, all who suffer
in body and mind and spirit, all who are oppressed by forces of power and
privilege, all who are in prison and in bonds; as bound with them and as
sufferers with them whatever their affliction. We bear them in our hearts
and pray for their relief.
Leader:You
are invited to speak out the names of people whom you wish to remember.
Leader:We
remember our enemies, if there be any who have injured us, exploited us
or oppressed us, or who cherish hatred against us. May we freely forgive
all who have wronged us; and if there be any whom wew
have wronged may we make amends and seek forgiveness.
20)We
remember those of every faith who have sought truth, and pray that all
members of the human family may know true freedom, til
at last theevery
ends of the earth are liberated.
ALL:Amen
Leader:We
give thanks for the fruit of the vine, and for the wheat which has come
from the earth and which has been changed
by human hands. May this sharing be significant for those who partake in
it, for the consecration of body and spirit, for fruitfulness in good works,
and for the sustaining of our lives in this community of faith.
May the spirit which blesses us with these gifts, move in us, that we may
give of ourselves, and bless the transformation of this hour.(elevating
the cup and the loaf of bread)
THE GIFTS OF THE EARTH FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH.
[The
cup and loaf are set down. Here proper sections may be inserted as desired.
After
these, the bread is taken up and held]
Leader:Blessed
are you, Eternal Sustainer of the Universe, who brings forth bread from
the earth.
[Here
the Leader breaks the bread as a reader reads:]
21)We
are all one bread, one body. When the bodies of others are broken, we are
broken.
[The
bread is put down and after a brief moment of silence, the leader lifts
up the flagon and cup and says:]
Leader:Blessed
are you, Eternal Sustainer of the Universe! You make the fruit of the vine.
[The
cup is filled as the reader reads:]
22)We
are all kin, one blood. When the blood of others spills, our blood is spilled.
Leader:The
gifts of the earth for the people of the earth!
All: Therefore
we covenant with one another
To work until bodies are broken no more,
To act until blood is no more spilled,
To practice peace until this sign is no longer necessary,
And all the people can dance on their land beneath the sun,
eating their bread with joy
And drinking their wine with a merry heart, as we do now.
One day there shall be peace!
One day all shall rejoice!
Leader:Behold!
Gifts of spirit for people of spirit!
All: Amen!
Sharing
We
are invited to feed one another as a model for feeding the world. When
the loaf is passed, the person passing it holds the loaf until the receiver
has broken off a portion. The cup is passed and the bread is dipped.
As
you share the bread say to your neighbor: We are all one body
As
the share the wine say to your neighbor: We are all blood kin.
General
Thanksgiving
Leader:
Let us pray…
All: Eternal
spirit, we give thanks that through word and act we have been joined into
a holy company of people who would manifest in our individual and collective
lives, the hope of one humanity, one living
community of earth. We remember the words:
I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me;
I was sick and you visited me;
I was in prison and you came to me. (from
Matthew 25:35-36)
In
every act of mercy, of love, or empowerment we do,
In every spark of hope we keep alive: you
are there.
Amen
Hymn
Dismissal
23)The
feast is now ended, let us depart in peace.
Remember the words we have said and the acts we have done.
The work of the world lies before us.
Accomplish justice, with grace.
Blessing
Leader:The
blessing of Truth be upon us.
The power of love direct us and sustain us,
And the peace of this community preserve our going out and our coming
in,
From
this time forth and forever more.
Amen.
All: Amen!
[The
bell is rung for the last time.
The
flames are extinguished.]
Postlude
[There
may be music or a silent recessional.]