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Get started with presbytery celebrations of the Lord's Supper in your congregation. The following Eucharistic liturgy is commended for use in presbytery celebrations of the Lord's Supper.
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But wait — won't more frequent celebrations of the Lord's Supper make worship services longer? Not necessarily. Continue reading.
Liturgy for Presbytery Celebrations of the Lord’s Supper
Invitation To The Lord’s Table
Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God!
hey will come from east and west,
and from north and south,
According to Luke,
when our risen Lord was at table with his disciples,
he took the bread, and blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened
and they recognized him.
This is the Lord's table.
Our Savior invites those who trust him
to share the feast which he has prepared.
The Great Thanksgiving
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.
It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise,
eternal God, our creator.
You have given us life and second birth in your Spirit.
Once we were no people, but now we are your people.
You claimed Israel as your chosen nation
and raised up the church as a witness to the resurrection,
breathing into it your life and power.
From worlds apart, you gathered us together.
When we go astray, you welcome us home.
Always, your love has been steadfast.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with the choirs of heaven
and with all the faithful of every time and place
who forever sing to the glory of your name:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
You are holy, O God of majesty,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
In love with you and in compassion for all,
Jesus healed and taught, challenged and comforted, welcomed and saved.
He formed a community,
promising to be with his disciples wherever two or three were gathered,
and sending them on his mission of hope and healing in the world.
Jesus trusted his life to you, and went freely to his death,
so the world might be set free from suffering and sin.
You raised him from death and raise us also to live a new life with him.
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
you send us out to make disciples as he commanded.
Remembering all your mighty and merciful acts,
we take this bread and this wine from the gifts you have given us
and celebrate with joy the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ.
Accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy offering of ourselves,
that our lives may proclaim the One crucified and risen.
Great is the mystery of faith.
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these your gifts of bread and wine,
that the bread we break and the cup we bless
may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ
and with all who are baptized in his name,
that we may be one in ministry in every place.
As this bread is Christ's body for us,
send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.
It is appropriate to offer intercessions for the church and the world, including prayers for the presbytery, its leaders, pastors, and congregations, and its mission and ministry. It is also appropriate to give thanks for the life and witness of those who have died.
O God, today you have called us together to be the church.
Unite us now at your table, and in one loaf and a common cup, make us one in Christ Jesus.
Let your Spirit empower the life we share and ignite our witness in the world. With all who have gone before us, keep us faithful to the gospel teachings and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Give us strength to serve you
until the promised day of the resurrection,
when with the redeemed of all the ages
we will feast with you at your table in glory.
Through Christ, all glory and honor are yours, almighty God,
with the Holy Spirit in the holy church, now and forever.
Amen.
