Holy Communion Liturgy for February 6, 2022

This communion liturgy is shared freely to churches that offer online worship and hybrid sanctuaries with some people at home and some people practicing distancing and caution in an indoor or outdoor setting. Feel free to use pieces of this service helpful to you, and abridge, adapt or add freely in ways that make this holy for your community. This liturgy is not dependent on the revised common lectionary but alludes to texts from Isaiah 6 and Luke 5 in ways that do not require reading those texts in the service.

Celebration of Holy Communion

Invitation to Communion

Who will come to this table …
to celebrate care in illness, comfort in sorrow,
healing beyond curing, peace in forgiveness,
hope in times of fear or threat?

Here we are. We will come.

Who will come to this table,
having abundance,
as culture defines it or your heart knows it,
and because you have discovered
your own generosity
and need to start giving?

Here we are. We will come.|

Who will come to this table,
willing to be welcomed,
even when that is awkward,
willing to be served,
not a server, or planner of the menu,

and willing to welcome
anybody, anybody, anybody
who sits beside you …
willing to offer welcome
even expecting it to be rejected,
and, if it is, offer again?

Here we are. We will come,
with our regrets and dreams of angels,
with our healed lips and lives.

Words of Remembering

Jesus of Nazareth came to the lakeshore,
borrowed a boat and reached out to people
by offering words to remember
and food to eat.
The words called them to follow
and the food was from deep places.

Jesus comes still to stormy waters
and food deserts,
to borrow the leaky rowboat
(we wish was more like a cruise ship)
that we call the church,
and use it to offer words
that change human lives,
and sustenance that saves them.

We remember that Jesus knew,
when it was the last Passover,
that only a few words were needed,
and the simplest meal prepared,

Jesus blessed, broke, poured, shared,
and whispered … “For You.”

Prayer of Consecration

Gentle Host, rest upon us as you rested upon wave and deep. Speak into our lives a Word made flesh. Send your Spirit of life and love, power and blessing upon your children that this bread may be broken and gathered in love and this cup poured out to give hope to all. Risen Christ, live in us, that we may live in you. Breathe in us, that we may breathe in you. amen.

(as is the tradition – in silence or with music playing, break, touch or lift the bread, pour, touch or lift the cup)

Prayer of our Savior … Amen

Sharing of the Elements

Leader: Let us join as one though we are in many places
and receive the gift of God, the bread of heaven.

Unison: We are one in Christ in the bread we share.

Leader: Let us with our many needs and many blessings,
receive the gift of God, the cup of blessing.

Unison: We are one in Christ in the cup we share.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Spirit of Christ, we give thanks for this grace from our long and deep heritage of sanctuary Eucharists and shelter meals, fish fry picnics and IV dripping from a pole, and from our personal memories of words that have been generous, brave, helpful, holy. Wrap your gentle presence around all whose bodies, spirits and hearts need healing or strength. Receive each of our personal commitments to go forth for you, and also borrow from this community of faith the ways to row out to all your children in the world. Amen.

(Food deserts should disappear). Nevertheless, Food Desert Communion is Sacrament