Liturgy with communion for Thanksgiving - Year A

Texts: Deuteronomy 8:7-18; Psalm 65; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19

Call to Worship
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
We glorify our God with songs of thanksgiving and joy.
God has done great things for us, filling us with grace.
God fed our ancestors in the wilderness, God clothes us with hope.
We will offer our hearts to God, always saying,
'Thank you!' to the One who loves us.
We will sing our praises, shouting of God's presence in our lives.

Prayer of the Day
Hot showers in the morning
     and cool breezes in the evening;
work that provides for our families,
     and abundance that makes us generous;
silly jokes told by third graders,
     and the silent tears of a grandmother
     lost in her childhood forever.
What blessings are ours, Creation's Joy!

Teachers who patiently help us with our math,
     and mentors who keep us on the right paths;
friends who shovel snow off sidewalks before we waken,
     and employers whose hearts are greater than their profits;
piano teachers who smile at our repeated mistakes,
     coaches who teach us (one more time)
     how to curl the ball into the goal.
What blessings are ours, Servant of Joy!
 
Dogs who bounce us awake early in the day
     and cats who lullaby us to sleep at night;
grandfathers who teach us how to whittle
     and sisters who give up a date to baby sit;
little boys who always forget to wipe their mouths
     and folks who always remember to say 'thank you.'
What blessings are ours, Joyous Spirit!
 
God in Community, Holy in One,
thanksgiving is in every word we speak,
even as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
 (The Lord's Prayer)
 
Call to Reconciliation
We wonder what's for lunch, we worry about work tomorrow, we fret about the test that is coming up. So much worry, so much time wasted over things we cannot control. The One who showers earth with rain, who places the stars in the autumn sky, is the same One who wraps mercy tight around you, who feeds us on healing and hope. Let us confess how our worries keep us from trusting the God who hears us and restores us to new life. Please join me as we pray,

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     Because we live in this modern, tech-driven, twittering age, we often forget what you have done for us, God of every blessing. We pat ourselves on the back for our ability to learn new computer skills, but have forgotten that life is more than a machine. We have more than we could ever use yet, like squirrels, store up more and more. Our faith is often pushed to the back of the closet, to make room for all the fears we wear so easily.
     Forgive us, Restorer of life. As you clothe us with your grace and mercy, may we share with those who have so little. As our hearts overflow with your love and wonder, may we offer them as gifts to everyone we meet. As you feed us with your joy and hope, may we welcome to the Table all those whose lives are filled with tears and pain. As we gather with family and friends during this season, may we continue to give thanks for the gift of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
This is the good news: as God dresses creation in wonder, so you will be clothed in grace; as God pours out abundance upon the earth, so you will be blessed with peace and joy.
We don't say it often enough, but thanks be to God for healing, for life, for wonder, for mercy. We are blessed, for we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
We cannot begin to express our gratitude to you, Giver of all, for your gifts poured into our lives.  But let these offerings be used to bring hope, healing, and peace to all your children, so we may all give thanks to you forever.  Amen. 

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord of blessings be with you.
The Lord be with you, also.
Be glad and rejoice, God's people, lifting your hearts to the Restorer of lives.
We offer them to the God who clothes us in grace.
People of God, come to the Table where you shall eat and be satisfied.
With shouts of joy, we gather to praise the name of God!

Your mouth was filled with laughter,
God of our every moment,
     as you sang creation into being.
The heavens rang with shouts of joy,
     as fruit-bearing trees sprang up,
     as green pastures rippled with wonder.
Crafted in your image, you would
satisfy us with the bounty of grace,
     but we chose the destroyer, death,
     hanging out with the life-cutter, sin.
Prophets and psalmists were sent by you,
longing to restore us to your side,
     but we put their words to shame.
So that everyone might be saved,
Jesus came to be with us,
herald of your grace,
bringer of your truth.

With those who lifted thanks by crossed rivers,
with those who offered gratitude for simple gifts,
we join our voice in praising your name:

Holy, holy, holy! God of wonder and delight.
All creation is filled with your joy.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes to clothe us in grace.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, Restorer of broken lives,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, Mediator of salvation.
Seeing the nightmare of our lives,
     he became one of us, so we
     might see the dreams you have for us.
Knowing how our hearts overflowed
with fear, bitterness, and worries,
     he came with peace and comfort.
Teaching that the body is more than sin,
that life is more than death,
     he became our ransom on the cross,
     our salvation by rising from the grave.
 
As we give thanks for his life and death,
as we shout with joy for his resurrection,
we speak of that mystery we call faith:
 
Christ died, the righteousness for all.
Christ rose, the resurrection for all.
Christ will return, the fulfillment for all.
 
Pour out your Spirit                                         
doing great things with the bread and the cup.
Empty, we will be filled
with the plenty of your grace,
the broken bread strengthening us
     so we might bring healing to a world
     shattered by violence and despair.
Longing for hope, we shall be satisfied
with the cup of blessing and hope,
our lives overflowing
with your love and compassion,
     pouring ourselves out for the
     poor and marginalized of our time.
 
And when all our worrying hours have ended,
when we are clothed in your mercy forever,
we will gather with our sisters and brothers,
our mouths filled with laughter,
our hearts echoing glad songs of joy to you,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending
The God of laughter sends you out.
So we can share joy with everyone.
The Brother of the poor sends you out.
So we may bring hope and healing to the broken and despairing.
The Spirit of wonder sends you out.
So we may join all creation in offering thanks.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy for November 23, 2014 (Reign of Christ/Christ the King - A)

Texts:  Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Psalm 100; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

Call to Worship

We come, for God gathers us here,
with that community called faith:
where the hungry are served first,
where the thirsty drink life's water.
We come, for God welcomes us here
into that home called grace:
where the naked are clothed in robes of hope;
where the stranger is embraced as the long-lost prodigal.
We come, for God reunites us here,
sisters and brothers in that family called love:
where the imprisoned model justice,
where the sick are cradled in God's peace.
 
Prayer of the Day
Searcher of the scattered:
where the bullies and biased
have gorged themselves
at cruelty's banquet,
     you will serve them justice
     for dessert.
Where the wounded
are turned away by indifference,
     you will bandage them
     in the swaddling clothes of hope.
Where the hungry
press their foreheads
against the windows
at Chez Plenty,
     you will open wide the doors,
     having made reservations
          for us all.

Bringer of justice:
when we would push
the outsiders further away,
     you pull them closer to your heart.
When we would shove
the next-to-nothings aside
to get to the front of the line,
     you pick them up
     to keep them next to you.
When we scatter our gifts,
throwing them away on foolishness,
     you gather them up
     and give them back to us
          saying, 'here, try again.'

Spirit of common sense:
as soon as
we wander into
the shadows of selfishness,
     you open the eyes
     of our hearts
          so we can see
          that place called home.
As soon as
we think we can find you
only in the rich and powerful,
     you humble us
     with the grace of Jesus.
 
God in Community, Holy in One,
gather us into your presence,
even as we pray as we are taught,
(The Lord's Prayer)

Call to Reconciliation
They are the promises stretching back into the dim recesses of time, yet as new as this very moment.  When we lose our way, God searches for us until we are found. When we hurt others, God brings healing to all.  When we sin, God forgives us. Let us hold these promises close to our hearts, as we confess those things we try to hide.

 Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     We stock the food pantries, but brush aside those who hunger for friendship.  We give our hand-me-downs away, but overlook those whose hopes have been stripped away.  We glad-hand those just like us, but turn a deaf ear to our neighbors who 'talk funny.'
     Forgive us, Hope of the ages.  You persistently search for us in the side streets of the world, gathering us up and bringing us home, so we may be drenched in the waters of your bottomless pool of  forgiveness, watched over by your Child, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
 
Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
God searches for the lost,
and finds us;
God invites the hungry to the table,
and feeds us;
God sends Jesus,
and frees us from death's prison;
God forgives all who sin,
and heals us with mercy and grace.  Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May these gifts be used to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to bring medicine to the sick and provide a hospice bed for the dying, to offer hope to those who thirst for it in their lives and to bring friendship to those who sit in jail cells.  May these gifts bring your kingdom to everyone who longs for its presence in every circumstance, we pray.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the Searching God be with you!
And also with you!
God gathers us up and brings us to this place.
We lift our hearts to the One who leads us into the kingdom of peace and healing.
God collects us in the power of the Word, whoever and wherever we are.
We will sing glad songs that remind us that we are never, never! lost.

Out of the clouds and
thick darkness of chaos,
you spoke the creative Word,
God of wonder,
and creation burst forth in joy.
     Rivers and streams teemed with life,
     mountains were topped with snow,
     green pastures cradled all your creatures.
You shaped us in your image,
calling us to be your people,
living in your steadfast love.
     But your hopes for us
     were pushed aside by
     the seductions of sin and death,
          and we followed them into
          the uninhabited wastes of the world.
Because we were your priceless treasure,
you continued to search for us,
sending prophets in all the ages.
     When we continued to worship
     all the false powers,
you sent Jesus to gather us up
and lead us back to you.
 
So, with skeptics and scoffers,
with the faithful and the followers,
we join our voices together
singing our praise to you:
 
Holy, holy, holy, Shepherd of all creation.
Heaven and earth sing choruses of praise:
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes to gather us back to you.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, Steadfast Love,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Child, our Savior.
Seeing us stripped naked by sin,
     he forages through glory's closets
     to clothe us in your joy and hope.
Setting aside his power,
     he would turn oppression inside-out,
     and injustice upside down
          to create the kingdom
          where the least are the most valued.
Searching for us,
     he left no stone unturned,
     even going through death and hell
     in order to find us
     and bring us back to you.
 
As we remember his service to all,
as we celebrate the promised resurrection,
we sing of that mystery we call faith:
 
Christ has died, bringing us your justice;
Christ is risen, offering us your love.
Christ will gather us up to lead us home.
 
In this sanctuary of your heart,
with sisters and brothers in the faith,
we pray that you pour out your Spirit
upon us and the gifts of the Table.
It is here all our scattered lives
are woven together in that tapestry
called the kingdom,
where we are strengthened
by the Bread of life,
     so we may fortify all those
     who have been exhausted by life;
where we are handed
the Cup of hope,
     to quench the thirst
     of all who wander through
     the deserts of injustice.
 
And when you have gathered
all the nations into your joy,
when the losers and the lurkers,
the weak and the wise ones
are seated around your Table,
we will join our voices
with all of creation,
forever singing anthems of praise,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending
We will go now into God's world:
to bring healing to the sick and hope to the despairing.
We will go now to serve Jesus' sisters and brothers:
to offer a hand to those who have fallen,
to put a warm coat around those who shiver in the cold.
We will go now to share the Spirit with everyone we meet:
to be a companion to those in prisons as well as those bound by injustice,
to bring the cup of grace to every parched soul.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for November 16, 2014 (Pentecost 23/Trinity 22/Proper 28/Ordinary 33 - A)

Texts: Judges 4:1-7; Psalm 123; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30
 
Call to Worship
This is the Lord's Day, the day of wonder and grace.
This is the day to worship the One who calls us here.
This is the Lord's Day, the day we are given joy and peace.
This is the day promised to us, the day of healing and renewal.
This is the Lord's Day, and it has come just in time!
This is the day we gather with hope, with faith, with love!
 
Prayer of the Day
Now,
in the silence,
when we struggle
to control our lives,
     may we, once again,
     empty ourselves of our pride and fears,
          to be filled with your hope.

Now,
in these moments,
when we cannot let go
of our worries and doubts,
     may we, once again,
     open our hands to hold your faith.
 
Now,
on this day
which is only and always
your gift to us,
     may we, once again,
     live into your kingdom.
 
Now, as we lift our hearts to you,
God in Community, Holy in One,
we once again pray as we have been taught saying,
 (The Lord's Prayer)

Call to Reconciliation
When we remember all the mistakes we have made, all the careless words we have spoken, all the contempt we have given to those around us, we have trouble looking God in the eye. But God gazes at us with mercy and love, waiting to forgive us, even as we hesitate to speak of the brokenness of our hearts. Join me as we pray, saying,

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness

     Again we must confess, Master of the Universe, our struggles to be faithful disciples.  Entrusted 

with all your gifts, we become fearful once again of misusing them, missing the chance to be a blessing to others.  Invited to dance in the light of your love, we stand against the wall once again, keeping company with our old friend, sin.  Called to be emptied for those who struggle in life, we fill ourselves once again, with scorn for the poor choices they make.

     Have mercy, Journeying God, have mercy on us.  Once again, open our eyes to your kingdom in our midst, so we might discover that your day of hope and grace has already come in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
This is the good news: God intends for us to find life, to embrace hope, to receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Servant.
The end of our journey is not rejection and emptiness, but the fullness of grace and hope in our God.  Thanks be to God, we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
Now, in these moments of gratitude, we would offer you a portion of all which you have given to us, Gracious God.  We do so, trusting that you will take them, multiplying them in your kingdom, so all might be blessed by your love, your peace, and your hope.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of promises be with you!
And also with you!
Rejoice in the One who surprises us, people of God.
We lift our hearts to God who brings us salvation.
Children of God, join in glad song to the Giver of mercy.
Our voices join in praise to the God of love and hope.

When you had
had enough of chaos,
Covenant God,
you cried out in love
     and creation burst forth in joy.
You shaped us into images of you,
that we might be children of light,
     but we were drawn into
     the shadowy life of sin and death.
You sent people like Deborah
to call us back into your light,
     but we were scornful of their words.
Then you sent Jesus,
who came to fill us
with your love and hope.
 
So, with servants and sinners,
with judges and those who endure injustice,
we lift our voices, our hearts, our eyes
singing to the One enthroned on our hopes:

Holy, holy, holy are you, God enthroned in the heavens.
All creation looks to the hand of the Creator.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who walked the dusty paths of earth.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, God of Wonder,
And blessed is Jesus Christ, our Lord.
When the proud hurled
their contempt at him,
     he humbly knelt to serve them.
When friends urged him
to play it safe,
     he crawled out onto faith's limb,
     trusting it would hold him.
When death wrapped him
in its cold shadows,
     he burst forth into the light
     of resurrection joy,
that we might live
in the kingdom with you.
 
As we remember his mercy and hope,
as we celebrate the feast he has prepared,
we speak of that mystery we call faith:
 
Christ died on that day of shadowed hearts;
Christ rose on that day when death was surprised by love;
Christ will come to us on that day of light and love.
 
Your grace showers down
upon the seeds you have planted,
your hope warms the harvest
planted in our hearts.
As the Spirit gathers your gifts
and prepares them for your Table,
make us ready to receive them
with joy and gratitude.
As you send us forth
to serve your people,
     may our faith and love
          be transformed into winter coats,
          we can give to the homeless;
     may our hope become
          the meals we fix for the hungry.
 
And when that long-awaited Day comes,
when all times and seasons have ended,
we will gather at your Feast,
joining our voices with our sisters and brothers,
as we sing to you through all eternity,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending
Let us go forth to be God's faithful servants.
We will not hide our gifts but share them with everyone we meet.
Let us go forth to be the followers of Jesus.
We will not hold back our compassion, but will offer it to all.
Let us go forth to be the Spirit's hope and peace.
We will be the grace, the joy, the wonder others need in their lives.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for November 9, 2014 (using alternate OT lessons for Ordinary 32 - A)

Texts: Amos 5:18-24; Psalm 70; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

Call to Worship
We gather to worship our God:
not only with those whose hearts
     overflow with joy,
but with those who long to offer
     their deepest sorrows.
We gather to follow Jesus:
not only with songs and prayers,
but with lives of service and peace.
We gather to be filled with the Spirit's presence:
not only so we can wait patiently
     for the Bridegroom to come,
but so we can be with those who are impatient
     for justice and hope in their lives.

Prayer of the Day
We think we can put you
in a tiny cage made out of
our expectations, where you will stay,
but you come,
God-who-is-always-unpredictable,
     composing songs in strange languages,
     replacing pianos with steel drums,
     gather us in pubs at closing time,
so we can learn that to worship you
is to be with your children in every place.

We will only have the patience
to wait for you,
Jesus-who-comes-as-the-Bridegroom,
     when we become impatient
     enough to challenge the excuses
     of all who tell the poor to just wait;
we will only have enough faith
     when we trust that you
     know what your are doing
     and do not stand in the way;
we will only have enough justice
     when we make sure
     that the have-nots are
     as valued as the haves.

You would have us keep nothing
from God, Spirit-who-brings-the-new,
so teach us to pray with abandon,
bringing all that that knocks
     us off our feet,
and all that takes
     our breath away;
revealing the messy rooms
     of our souls,
opening the empty
     cupboards of our souls
so you can stock them
     with grace and wonder.

Be with us now in these moments,
God in Community, Holy in One,
as we pray as Jesus has taught us,
(The Lord's Prayer)

Call to Reconciliation
We are not people who have no hope.  Despite our foolish ways of living, in the face of all the mistakes we make, God does not waste time, but comes to fill us with forgiveness and hope.  Join me, as we pray together, saying,

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     With insta-this and insta-that, we are an impatient people, God our help.  We are so focused on our hand-held electronics, we do not notice the changing seasons.  We are so rushed to get to our next activity, we do not see the victims of injustice by the side of the road.  We are so determined to get right the date of your return, that we forget you are waiting for us to focus on what we can do with our days.
     Forgive us, God our rescuer, and teach us patience.  As we wait, may we continue to seek to do your will.  As we do your will, may our eyes be opened to those around us.  As our eyes are opened, may we see Jesus Christ, our Lord the Bridegroom, coming toward us with justice and righteousness as his companions.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
God is please to pour salvation upon us, drenching us in the waters of grace and hope.
Thanks be to God!  We will rejoice and be glad in the One who delivers us from our brokenness and who makes us whole.  Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
It seems like just a drop, the gifts we offer to you from our abundance.  But our drop added to hers, then to his, then to theirs soon become a river of hope, a flood of peace, a torrent of grace rushing into and through our world.  May it be so, Just God, may it be so.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of the prophets be with you.
May the God of the Bridegroom be with you.
Lift up your hearts, all you who wait for God.
We open them, that God might fill them with righteousness.
Join in the glad chorus of all who sing to our God.
Our songs will be of justice and hope for all people.

You could have brought the ordinary
out of chaos, Unpredictable God,
every planet the same size and shape,
every creature a lookalike of the next,
     but you spun rings around Saturn
          and layered Jupiter with gases;
     you stretched the neck on the giraffe
          and webbed the feet of ducks.
Then, you envisioned us in your image,
shaped by your hands, given life by your Breath,
so we might enjoy the wonders of your mind.
     Yet, we chose to seek shelter in sin
     and picked death as our boon companion.
You would not have us be ignorant
but sent Amos and others to remind us
of your love and mercy toward us,
     but we jumped feet-first
     into temptation's alluring pools.
So you sent Jesus to us,
your salvation flowing from
your heart to ours.

With those who wait patiently for you,
with those who fritter time away,
we offer our songs of thanksgiving:

Holy, holy, holy are you, God of wonder.
All creation finds joy in you.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the Bridegroom who comes to us.
Hosanna in the highest!

Your kingdom is as unpredictable
as you, God who comes to us.
You could have dammed up
all your hope, but you sent Jesus
so we might see it face to face.
You could have kept your dreams
locked away in your heart,
but you sent Jesus so we
might hear them for ourselves.
You could have withheld salvation
from those who had no hope,
but you sent Jesus, so it might
sweep away death's grasp as
it flooded out of the empty tomb.

AS we wait patiently for the Bridegroom,
as we seek to live as those with hope,
we proclaim that mystery called faith:

Christ died for those who are alive today;
Christ rose, to snatch us out of death's grasp;
Christ will bring all who die into your kingdom.

Come quickly, Holy Spirit, , and grace
the bread, the cup, and all who gather here.
Feed us with the Bread which,
though broken, can make us whole,
strong enough to lift up
the poor and the needy.
When our sense of justice
is so parched we cannot speak
for the oppressed and voiceless,
may the Cup of righteousness
flood through our lives into our world,
bringing hope and new life to all.

And when the Bridegroom comes
to gather us all for the Wedding Feast,
we will join our sisters and brothers
in praising you forever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One.  Amen.

Sending
Go forth as God's people!
We will take hope to all who have none.
Go forth as the Bridegroom's beloved!
We will open the floodgates of God's compassion for all.
Go forth to share the Spirit!
We will be rivers of justice flowing through the world.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for November 9, 2014 (Pentecost 22/Trinity21/Proper 27/Ordinary 32 - A)

Texts: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

Call to Worship
If we will but listen,
God will speak to us in parables,
God will tell us stories lived out by our grandparents.
If we will but remember,
we will discover all we have heard and known,
all the wonders God has in store for us.
If we will but share,
we can tell our children and grandchildren -
even those not yet born -
the glorious stories of our God.

Prayer of the Day
We stand at the crossing,
Holy God,
arms, hearts, souls
full of the burdens
the gods of this world
have placed on us.
You remove them,
throw then to one side,
taking us by the hand
to lead us into your kingdom.

As we turn to you in our despair,
Holy Friend,
you come and fill our emptiness
with the holy oil
of your compassion,
so we might always
be ready to serve
those who come to us.

Holy Wisdom,
you would not leave us
uninformed of God's love for us,
so you whisper in our ears
of wonders beyond imagination;
you remove the blindfolds from our eyes
so we may  behold the grace
flowing all around us;
you open our hearts
to the family God has given us.

God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
(The Lord's Prayer)

Call to Reconciliation
How quickly we forget - our faith, our calling, our hope.  All because we try to do everything our way, rather than God's.  But God is quicker to forgive, and to restore us to new life.  Let us confess to our God, as we pray, saying,

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     It is never easy to admit how foolish we are, Approaching God.  You have chosen us for yourself, and we continue to shelter false gods in our hearts.  You promise to be with us in every moment, but we can find little time for you.  You send your Word to us, but we are too busy listening to the noise of our culture to pay attention.
     Have mercy, Eternal One, and forgive us.  Speak to us, so we might listen, and in hearing be transformed into your people.  Fill us with holiness, so we might give ourselves wholly to others.  Enable us to serve you faithfully and completely, even as did our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
This is our assurance: God forgives us.
This is our hope: God's love is everlasting.
This is our truth: God is with us always.
We will speak the truth;
we will live the hope;
we will share God's mercy.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
We can stand at the edge and watch while you seek to bring hope, healing, peace, and joy to everyone in the world.  Or we can take that step, of committing our lives as well as our gifts, in working with you in this ministry of grace.  Bless our gifts, bless our lives, bless our service, we pray.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the Lord be with you.
And also with you.
People of God, lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the One whose faithfulness never ends.
People of God, give thanks to the Lord.
We offer our praise and thanksgiving to the One whose love is eternal.

How good and right
it is to praise you,
God who gathers us
around this Table!
You opened your mouth,
and creation's glory sprang forth;
you appointed the stars
to glitter in the night;
you established the waters
to nourish the earth.
You shaped us in your image,
calling us to be your children
to live with you in harmony and joy.
But we chose to serve sin,
crossing the River back into chaos,
hugging our false gods to our hearts.
But you would not give up
on your hope for us,
sending us the prophets
so we might pay attention
to the words of your heart.
When we would not forsake
our reliance on the world's idols,
you sent Jesus to us,
who died and was raised for our sake.

Therefore, we join with those
who await us there in heaven,
as well as those who witness to us here,
singing forever of your glory:

Holy, holy, holy are you, God of all wanderers.
All creation cries out in praise to you.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes that we might have hope.
Hosanna in the highest!

You alone are holy,
God of all time,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior.
When we had walked away
from your gracious love,
you turned to us in Christ
to save us.
When we no longer
were willing to listen,
your Word of hope
came among us
to live your love in our midst.
When we foolishly clung
to sin's deadly ways,
Jesus reached out to pull us
from the grasp of death,
and showed us the Kingdom.

As we remember his death and resurrection for us,
we tell those who come after us
of that mystery we call faith:

Christ died, the witness that love is stronger than hate;
Christ was raised, the witness that life is stronger than death;
Christ will witness to us that hope is stronger than grief.

As we come to this Table
of healing and gentleness,
we pray that you would
send your Spirit upon the gifts
of the bread and of the cup,
and on your children gathered here.
As we reach out our hands
for the bread which has been broken for us,
we seek to encourage others
to discover you love;
as we drink of the Spirit of Christ,
may we no longer plead ignorance,
but with full awareness,
and open hearts, go forth
to serve all your children.

Then, when we gather at
the Wedding Banquet in your kingdom,
we will praise you,
Creating God,
Jesus of the poor,
Healing Spirit -
God in Community, Holy in One.  Amen.

Sending
Go now to tell the stories of our God.
We will listen to the lives of those around us as we do.
Go now to discover the gifts of everyone you meet.
We will remember Jesus, who blessed us with hope and life.
Go now to share all that is within you.
We will tell everyone - from the smallest child to the oldest person -
of the Spirit who longs to shape us into one community.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman