communion – Page 2 – katyandtheword

Good Friday Communion Bulletin Juxtaposing the Lord’s Prayer

Journeying Alone

April 2

Good Friday

Crucifixion

Luke 23:32-47

Psalm 31:5-13

All: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name

Arrest

Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁶As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus Luke 23:3-4,23,26

All: Give us this day our Daily Bread

Mourning

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Luke 23: 27-29

Communion (Celebrate appropriate to your context)

Confession

All: Forgive Us Our Debts as we Forgive Our Debtors

(Silence for Confession)

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23: 32-34

Option: To Nail Sins to the Cross or Blow out candles now

Assurance of Pardon

All: Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver us from Evil

The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:36-43

Optional Taize: Jesus Remember Me, When You Come Into Your Kingdom or Were You There When They Crucified the Lord

Darkness

All: For Thine is the Kingdom and The Glory and The Power Forever, Amen.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” Luke 23:44-47

Amen

Option: To Blow Out all of the rest of the Candles

Music is optional to add wherever, since everyone is handling it differently, suggestions below

Hymns: Take Up Your Cross the Savior Said, Precious Lord Take My Hand, Why Has God Forsaken Me, Alas And Did My Savior Bleed

Taize: Jesus Remember Me When You Come into your Kingdom, Per Crucem

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy

Maundy Thursday Communion Worship

All: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not Want

So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters. Luke 22:8-10

All: Even though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

And speak to the owner of the house. ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:11-13

All: You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:14-16

(Option: Do a table preparation)

All: You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Luke 22: 17-18

(Pour into the cup)

All: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:19-20

Celebrate Communion

All: And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole long life.

Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:25-27

Closing Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Feel free to add music, but everyone is handling it differently, I suggest The Shepherd will Supply My Need)

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy

Mandy Thursday Prayers

Journeying Together

April 1

Maundy Thursday

Last Supper

Luke 22:1-27: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=476536091

Psalm 34:8-10: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=476536110

Call to Worship

God, you call us to love and serve one another

Let us enter into this space as disciples of Christ

Jesus, you are about to break your very self for us

Let us enter into communion with each other and you, we pray. Amen.

Invitation: God calls us each by name to approach, come let us confess ourselves to God.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we are aware that you are holy and we confess that we do not always understand how you can be motivated to serve. We confess that we do not know how to love and serve one another. We get caught off guard by the command, and that it is very hard to put into practice. Forgive us, we pray. Help us to recognize the ways in which we and others love and serve one another, so that we might be better equipped to do as you command. We pray in your most Holy Name. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the good news, Jesus will always forgive us. So let us reassure one another: In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven. Amen.

Communion Prayer: Here we are Jesus, the time and place that you serve your very self up for communion. Bless these elements and this celebration of your death, we pray. Send your Holy Spirit, remind us that you created and love us, and give us what we need to sustain us through Holy Week we pray. Amen.

Hymns: O for a Closer Walk with God, There’s a Sweet Sweet Spirit, What a Friend We Have in Jesus,

Taize: I am Sure I shall see the Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy

Communion Tastes Different Now

God, I have had many times when I realized I didn’t really know anything.

All the things I knew how to do have changed.

From going for a walk to grocery shopping.

And, so, Communion tastes different.

Do we even know how the economy works? I doubt anyone knows anymore.

Money and power become nonsensical, time itself has changed.

When I see two or three year olds wear a mask, without blinking, for three hours of nursery school.

I realize that they are the only ones who will know how the world works right now. Because they are growing into it.

Meanwhile ancient schemes are being broken

And the Holy Spirit is here, whispering new words on the wind.

And because I have changed, and I’m a part of communion, communion tastes differently now. The kingdom tastes different.

Because everything is being made new.

The whole world is indeed laboring in birth, and I am praying that somehow, all things are working together for good.

The thing about labor is, you don’t know what you’re doing

Parts of you die and parts of your body make room for the new thing, and parts of your body are never the same again.

It’s messy and bloody and it hurts like hell.

And when you are handed the child, whew.

You really realize that you really don’t know anything.

Mothering, swaddling God, tell us it’s ok if communion tastes different, it’s still communion.

Lord, teach us how to handle this new reality that is being birthed, I pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt credit Pastor Katy Stenta

Here is the Link for Pandemic Prayers and Resources: Top Posts are “In an Abundance of Caution” “The Lord is My Shepherd: What kind of Sheep are You” and “Masks: A Prayer”

Enough for Grace

Holy Spirit, as I live and breathe I consider my requirements and hold them up against your grace.

How is it I am enough for you? On the one hand I am never enough. I have this drive to achieve and perfect. But though this drive is a part of being human, I know this is by no means your requirement.

For who is perfect but you, God?

Sometimes, when I imagine heaven, I know I get it all wrong. Picturing it like a Hall of Fame of acheivements or a place of perfection.

When, instead, you promise it to be the feast where everyone gets fed, and no one is too late to join.

Instead, you promise it to be a place where participation is valued, not perfection.

What a balm, to remember that you want each of us to participate.

There is no such thing as perfect communion. If you required perfection for communion, it would unravel–becoming a practice of the singular being a Christ.

Instead, you invite us to come, in all of our messy, fumbling, clumsy ways of love. Instead you encourage any and all to participate in whatever way we can. Jesus stands at the table with open arms, tearing the bread apart with his own hands, his eyes twinkling.

And then, God you make communion: miraculously happen, by being present!

You are there when the lips of the ill or frail touch the elements. You are there when the cup of grace is overfilled and drips and spills over. You cross the great expanses of screens and bring us into communion with one another and you even over the internet. The miracle of your promised presence each and every time we practice communion is perfection itself.

Communion is perfect.

And we are it’s participants, not its perfecters.

Lord, help us to remember you value true and honest participation over any attempt at perfection. You are perfect so we don’t have to be. You created communion so we can be a part of perfection, a part of you, together.

Only you, O God, would see perfection as something to partake in, rather than something to strive for.

In this way communion is truly a foretaste of the kingdom meal. And for that I give you thanks and praise.

Amen.

This Prayer can be used/adapted with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

More Mundane Prayers: for surviving the Day to Day

Here is the Link for Pandemic Prayers and Resources: Top Posts are “In an Abundance of Caution” “The Lord is My Shepherd: What kind of Sheep are You” and “Masks: A Prayer”

Virtual Communion Resources

All Resources may be used with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Virtual Communion Prayer/Meditation

We are forever practicing virtual communion.

Recalling you, re-membering you. Virtually recalibrating ourselves to be the body of Christ until it becomes a physical reality.

We celebrate with all those saints who have come before us, and all those who have yet to come as a part of your kingdom. It is a virtual party, a foretaste, a glimpse of what is to come.

We worry about the rules a lot: who is truly welcome at the table, does Jesus really mean every single person can be a part of the body of Christ?

We worry about what together means: does communion mean at the same time, does it mean being in the same place? Does it mean the same loaf? Does it mean it all has to be wine? Do chips & grape soda count? What is the food of the people?

In our anxiety to be together, sometimes we do the opposite and make a lot of walls to keep each other apart.

But I’m happy for the gift of virtual communion. To remember that not everyone who is supposed to be there is there, and yet somehow it’s still communion and they are still included.

I am grateful for the celebration of it–for the solemn moment when we realize that we are a part of God’s family, and that Jesus welcomed especially those who are forgotten or overlooked, I remember that Jesus often called those who had no other access by NAME to him.

Because this virtual communion is also a real communion. Somehow, miraculously it’s always both. We are both the unbaked bread beginning to rise, and the crusty bake, dipped in the cup, and no matter what stage we are at we can taste it on our tongue.

However we classify and codify this communion, Lord I pray you make us a part of it.

May we be blessed, broken and consumed, until Jesus comes again.

We pray. Amen.

Eucharist Prayer; As we touch the bread and cup, the body and the blood of Christ to our lips. Let us remember that Jesus came as embodied love. Fully human, he bore the scars of his death upon the cross. When we consume Christ, when we practice communion with his body, we re-member you, we start the healing of coming together. No matter how we are practicing communion, we are practicing with you and therefore with one another. Strengthen us as the body Christ, heal us as the body of Christ and empower us to be the body of Christ we pray. Amen.

Communion Prayer: Lord as we stand isolated in this space. Grant us communion with one another and you, we pray. Remind us that you stand in relationship with us, forever drawing us together whenever and however with gather in your name. Send your Holy Spirit onto the elements we have here, the common food of our kitchens and pantries, so that it is imbued with your essence and love. Teach us how to practice communion in our present state we pray. Amen.

Virtual Commuion Order of Worship

Virtual Communion Invitation: As we are gathered–like the stars scattered upon the sky, let us remember God’s covenantal promise to Abraham, that God will always and forever be our God and we will always and forever be the children of God. Knowing that God loves us, and that Jesus Christ took the most basic and essential food of the people and consecrated them, let us now celebrate communion together, in what may be a new way.

I invite you to respond with the bold at home, I will read both parts today….

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Lift up your hearts

We Lift Our Hearts to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

(Feel free to add any Lamb of God/Mystery of Faith elements that fit your congregation)

It is right to give our thanks and praise (Jesus Christ we give you thanks and praise that you are here, gathering us together, in ways the human experience had not not yet imagined. And we recall your promised that wherever–and however–two or three are gathered in your name, you will be there. Here we are gathered, and we praise you for your presence, for your eternal presence in the stars and in every grain of sand upon the beach and in every human child. We give thanks for your consistant and constant presence in our lives. We pray that we can feel your presence here today. Amen)

I invite you to gather whatever communion elements you have, and to hold them close as we pray today.

On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, when they were fellow shipping together, Jesus took the food of the people, he gave thanks, and he broke it. He said, this is my body broken for you do this in remembrance of me.

Then in the same way, he took the cup, he gave thanks over it, and he said this is my blood poured out for you. Every time you eat this food and your drink this cup, you celebrate my death until I come again.

Let us Prepare ourselves to celebrate communion (Prayer asking for the Holy Spirit either see above prayers or pray extemporaneously)

Come let us consume the Lord together.

Prayer after Communion: Lord we give thanks for this simple meal to practice communion with one another and with you, may it serve as a foretaste of the kingdom where all the saints will gather once and for all. We give you thanks and praise. Amen.

More Pandemic Prayers & Resouces

Virtual Communion

Image

We are forever practicing virtual communion.

Recalling you, re-membering you. Virtually recalibrating ourselves to be the body of Christ until it becomes a physical reality.

We celebrate with all those saints who have come before us, and all those who have yet to come as a part of your kingdom. It is a virtual party, a foretaste, a glimpse of what is to come.

We worry about the rules a lot: who is truly welcome at the table, does Jesus really mean every single person can be a part of the body of Christ?

In our anxiety to be together, sometimes we do the opposite and make a lot of walls to keep each other apart.

But I’m happy for the gift of virtual communion. To remember that not everyone who is supposed to be there is there, and yet somehow it’s still communion and they are still included.

However we classify and codify this communion, Lord I pray you make us a part of it.

May we be blessed, broken and consumed, until Jesus comes again.

We pray. Amen.

More Pandemic Prayers & Resources

Seeds Liturgy Crucifixion: Matthew #GoodFriday Fully Abundantly Human

Good Friday

Matthew 27:27-61

Psalm 22:1-2, 14-18

Tenebrae Order of Worship I (Extinguish Candles after singing)

Were You there when they crucified the Lord or Taize: Stay with Me

Crown of Thorns: Matthew 27:27-31

This is Jesus, King of the Jews Matthew 27:32-37

Crucifixion Matthew 27:38-44

Were You There when they nailed him to a tree

Communion

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-51

Were You There when they left him there to die or Taize O Lord Hear My Prayer

Earthquake Matthew 27:52-54

Nail Sins to the Cross

Tomb Matthew 27-55:61

Were You there when they laid him in the Tomb or Taize Kyrie Eleison

Tenebrae Order of Worship II (Extinguish during Silent Meditations or Hymns)

Matthew 27:27-29

Silent Meditation

Psalm 22:1-2

Silent Meditation

Matthew 27: 41-44

Silent Meditation

Psalm 22: 16-17

Silent Meditation

Matthew 27: 45-47

Silent Meditation

Communion

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (abruptly end with “cry” before the Alleluias)

Nail Sins to the Cross

Psalm 22:14-15

Silent Meditation

III. Full Liturgy available here

Communion

Jesus our teacher, our brother, our friend knowing he was going to be betrayed and die, he took the bread and broke it and said, this is my body broken for you

Then Jesus took the cup and said: “I am poured out like water, and my bones are out of joint”

And even though Jesus knew that he would feel alone, he knew he would call out “My God, my God, Elohim, Elohim why have you forsaken me?” He poured himself out, sacrificing his very self for our sins. Every time we remember Jesus’ death we do so as a proclamation of deliverance for generation upon generation.

Send your Holy Spirit, here, God, salve our wounds and help us, even today to taste your kingdom today. We pray this using the prayer your son taught us….

Further Hymn Ideas: Let US Break Bread Together v1 &2

Bread of the World in Mercy Broken

All of the suggestions within the Tenebrae

When in Doubt: Prayer Resource #MaundyThursday, #Communion #Liturgy, #LastSupper

John 19:23-30 and Psalm 26:3

Note: The Narrative Lectionary takes up this account of the cross, rather than Footwashing, for Maundy Thursday. Therefore, I have taken these images to describe the Supper in the litany that follows.

John 19:23-30 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”

²⁵And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And because of* that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

* Most translations render the phrase, ap’ ekeinës tes öras, as “from that hour” or “after that hour,” but, besides the temporal meaning, the phrase can also mean “because of that hour.” Sophia Park, The Galilean Jesus: Creating A Borderland at the Foot of the Cross (Jn 19:23-30), Theological Studies 70 (2009).

Litany to be used after the Scripture reading/sermon on John

ALL: FROM THAT MOMENT ON, BECAUSE OF THAT HOUR,*

One: one piece of Christ’s body is given,

MANY: and Christ’s whole body is given.