Communion – various

Reflection on sharing around a table
People of faith understand just how sacred the act of gathering around a table for can be. Every good Jewish meal (this is what got Jesus in trouble, by the way) began with a berakah — Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu, melech ha olam… — “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you caused the fruit to grow, because you made the vine to grow.” Which means that every meal was also a religious act.
It was around a shared table that Jesus taught some of his most important lessons, while in the process revealing the depths of both his divinity and his humanity. He performed his first miracle not at the Temple, but at a wedding feast in Cana where he transformed water into wine (John 2: 1-12). He subversively shared meals with sinners and tax collectors (Luke 5: 27-32). With his blessing over two fish and five loaves of bread, five thousand people were fed (Matthew 13-21).
Just as tables today can be the source of tension and fierce debate, the tables where Jesus ate were not devoid of conflict. In one of the more controversial moments of his ministry, Jesus shuns a Syrophoenician woman who seeks his help in healing her daughter. Despite his initial rejection, she nevertheless persisted until Jesus agreed to set her daughter free from her affliction. Their encounter has much to teach us about the risk of engaging across lines of difference. The possibility of being cast aside and ignored is always there, but so is the chance for true transformation when we see the “other” as part of our common story and collective life.
(source: Rev Jennifer Bailey, published on Patheos)

A Prayer for Easter
Today we remember and give thanks for Jesus
and the seasons of his life
– when he was full of life and hope and possibilities
– when life took him into unknown territory
– when life tested him to the limit
– when, in the depths of his Winter, he believed Spring would come.
This Easter season,
we rejoice that his life
and all that he lived for
all that he believed and taught
leads us to see beyond death and darkness
and to believe in transformation beyond our imagining.
In his memory,
we gather once more around bread and wine
symbols of nourishment
of hospitality
of friendship
and of commitment.
We share this bread and wine today
committing ourselves
to be Easter people,
people who see beyond the barriers,
the pain, the darkness and hard times,
people who live in faith, hope and love
in all the seasons of our lives
whatever the ups and downs.
We open our eyes,
we open our ears,
we open our hands,
we open our minds,
we open our hearts.
We pray for one another:
May you love the life within you
may you love the life around you
and may you know that
a part of everything is here in you
a part of everything is here in you.
We pray for ourselves:
May I love the life within me
may I love the life around me
and may I know that
a part of everything is here in me
a part of everything is here in me. (Source: Michael Morwood)
(…..Communion)

AND THE TABLE WILL BE WIDE
And the table
will be wide.
And the welcome
will be wide.
And the arms
will open wide
to gather us in.
And our hearts
will open wide
to receive.
And we will come
as children who trust
there is enough.
And we will come
unhindered and free.
And our aching
will be met
with bread.
And our sorrow
will be met
with wine.
And we will open our hands
to the feast
without shame.
And we will turn
toward each other
without fear.
And we will give up
our appetite
for despair.
And we will taste
and know
of delight.
And we will become bread
for a hungering world.
And we will become drink
for those who thirst.
And the blessed
will become the blessing.
And everywhere
will be the feast.
(Source: Jan Richardson)

Call to the table
God calls us to the table to find a new way: 
a new grace, a new hope, a new faith, a new life
God calls; we come. 
Come to the table and let go of the worn out: 
worn out habits, worn out pains, worn out angers, worn out burdens. 
God calls; we come. 
Come to the table and receive
blessing, freedom, mercy, love. 
God calls; we praise. 

INVITATION
Here is the company of heaven, seen and unseen.
Here is the bread and wine to be broken and spilled.
Here is Jesus the Christ, holy rebel and sacred friend.
This is the belonging place.
Here are the people of God, saint and sinner.
Here is the congregation of heaven,
those ready and those not ready to receive.
Here is the story of God, crucified and risen.
This is the belonging place.
Here is the table of life, open and free.
Here is the grace of God, unconditional and without end.
Here is the love of Jesus, given and given again.
This is the belonging place.
Whoever we are and aren’t,
whatever we believe and don’t,
we belong here – at this table.
(Quoted on this page)

Communion liturgy (St Martin-in-the-fields)
Lord Jesus Christ, you have invited us to come to this table.
We have come from many places and experiences; 
we have come wth all our differences; 
We have come to the place where journeys meet. 
You have called us into the heart of God. 
The Lord be with you/and also with you. 
On the night that Jesus was betrayed he told us to prepare a place for him. And then he offered us a sign. A sign of how he would give himself to us to give us new life. He had always loved us, and now he showed us how perfect his love was. 
While his disciples were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread in his hands, like this, and he blessed it: 
Blessed are you Lord God of all creation; 
through your goodness we have this bread to offer, 
which earth has given and human hands have made. 
It will become for us the bread of life. 
And then he said to them: 
This is my body broken for you, do this is in remembrance of me. 
Silence. 
And then Jesus took a cup of wine, like this, and gave you thanks: 
Blessed are you Lord God of all creation, through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. 
It will become for us the cup of salvation. 
And then he said to them: Drink this, all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me. 
Silence. 
His disciples did not understand these words; how could they understand?
But later they would see Christ’s body broken, his love poured out – his death for us so that we might share his risen life. The life he gave then, he shares with us now. 
Lord Jesus Christ, 
as we do in this place what you did once and for all, 
breathe your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and wine
the they may be heaven’s food, 
renewing, transforming, sustaining and making us whole, 
so that we may be your body on earth, 
loving and caring for your creation, 
where all are welcome and the poorest are fed. 
Bless the earth, heal the sick, let the oppressed go free, 
and fill each one of us with your love from on high. 
Gather your people from the ends of the earth
to feast at your table with all your saints. (followed by The Lord’s Prayer)
Look, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Heaven, is broken for the life of the world. 
The gifts of God for the people of God. 
Jesus, Bread of life, Bread on the edge, Bread for the world. 
Communion is shared
THANKSGIVING PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God of hope, in bread and wine, you have restored us to relationship with you. Show us how to be a people that live your reconciling love in the world, so that we may recognise your presence in those we meet, and our hearts like those first disciples may burn within us upon the road. 
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the Word for us to speak;
You are the Truth for us to tell; 
You are the Light for us to light in the darkness. 
You are the Bread of Life for us to share. 
Now all of us must go out into the world
and live God’s love there. 
Look for Jesus in the oppressed and burdened. 
Look for Jesus in those who have lost hope. 
Look for him among the poor in heart. 
Among the merciful. Among the peacemakers. 
Among the persecuted for the sake of right. 
Look for Jesus on the edge. 
A chant may be sung. 
THE BLESSING
Go simply, lightly, gently. 
Go with obedience. Go with love. 
And the blessing of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever. Amen. 
(Source: Liturgy on the Edge: Pastoral and Attractional Worship, by Samuel Wells)

Craig Mitchell’s communion liturgy (between Palm Sunday and Passover) using ‘questions’ reminiscent of the Passover meal structure.
http://craigmitchell.typepad.com/mountain_masala/2010/04/holy-week-chapel-service.html
Gathering
There are times when the story of our lives takes an unexpected turn
A new chapter that throws us off-balance a turn of events that leaves us stumbling, bewildered, frightened, and speechless
a shocking, unexpected loss
a close relationship shattered
a bitter reality revealed
an undeserved fall from grace
A time when all our beliefs are called into question
when friendships turn fickle
when every choice feels like a dead-end
when truth itself is played like a chess piece
There are times when the story of our lives pauses at a blank page
and there seems nothing to write, nowhere to go next,
no-one to tell, and no-one who cares
We all know times like these
we all carry their memory in our hearts
Today we gather in order to remember such a story of a week in which promise and betrayal, wild expectation and deep despair, firm friendship and fierce denial, go hand in hand.
In this time between Palm Sunday and the Passion
amidst cries of welcome and calls for execution
we place ourselves alongside the disciples of Jesus
who knew him well, who chose to flee
Today we remind ourselves of the unpredictable journey of those days
Let us step into the twilight of this story
trusting that light will be shed on the shadows of our own lives
hoping that things left buried might stir from their graves
and stumble toward a new dawn
What longings and yearnings to you bring to this Easter journey?
What temptations and betrayals might test your heart?
We invite you to glimpse and listen and touch and taste,
to allow your senses to be windows to a story
waiting to be written on your heart, mind and soul.
(note: the link gives information about the ‘stations’ people explored)
Let us accompany one another into this place
where promises will be broken
where truth will be compromised
where tears will flow
where a kiss means death
May we not look for an easy way out of this eventide
but learn to wait, to watch, to listen
to hope that that the night might reveal what the daytime conceals.
Communion
Why have we gathered here?
We come because we have been called to live out a story
What story shall we live?
The story of saving love
Where did this story begin?
It was whispered before time began,
it was sung in the melody of Creation.
Whose story is this?
This story is God’s alone to tell
It hums in the rivers and the trees
It whispers in the skies and the seas
It calls to the people of all places
It speaks in our hearts, in our lives
Why then should we speak of this story?
This story calls our name in Creation
This story claims our lives through the Cross
This story shapes our future through the Spirit
We are its telling in this time and this place
So tell me the story of this table
The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed
took bread, and when he had given thanks,
he broke it (taking and breaking bread)
Tell me what he said and did
This is my body which is broken for you
Do this and remember me
Tell me what he said and did (taking and pouring cup)
In the same way, he took the cup and said
This is a new covenant in my blood
Drink it and remember me
This is our common story
our deep memory, our true destiny
So let it also be our story-telling, our testimony
Let’s celebrate the way that grace has shaped our lives
I invite you to say aloud a prayer of thanks (pause)
Hear the storytellers of all ages whisper with us
Holy. holy, holy Lord
God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed in the one who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest
What is our prayer on this day?
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us
So this everyday meal becomes an eternal feast
So that our eating and drinking today
unites us with Christ,
whose body and blood are given for us.
So we know that you live in us
and that we live in you
So that we live in your world
knowing it is indeed yours.
Living God, this is our prayer. Amen. (Craig Mitchell, Mountain Masala)

A communion liturgy by Ann Siddall here. 
Holy Communion.AnnSiddall

A communion used at the Uniting Women’s Conference in Adelaide in 2016 and freely available to download on the CMLA website.

A communion from St Martin’s in the field
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation: 
through your goodness we have this bread to set before you,
which earth has given and human hands have made. 
It will become for us the bread of life. 
Blessed be God forever. 
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation: 
through your goodness we have this wine to set before you,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands. 
It will become for us the cup of salvation. 
Blessed be God forever. 
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation: 
through your goodness we have these gifts to set before you, 
which are from you, yet shaped by human hands. 
Use them in the hallowing of our lives. 
Blessed be God forever. 
The Lord be with you. 
And also with you. 
Lift up your hearts. 
We lift them to the Lord. 
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 
It is right to give thanks and praise.
God of wisdom and truth, we give heartfelt thanks for the joy of your creation, and abundant praise for the grace of your liberating love. You gathered the 12 tribes of Israel and spoke your words to Elijah and your prophets. In the fullness of time, your Son gathered 12 disciples and walked the way of the cross that John the Baptist had prepared for him. After his great passion and suffering, he rose to glory on the third day. And so with the host of heaven we gather around your throne, singing your eternal hymn of glory: 
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. 
Hosanna in the highest. 
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. 
Hosanna in the highest. 
Suffering God, your Son knew betrayal and denial and pain and death. In his broken body we see the extent of your love for us and the depths of our rejection of you. Send your Spirit upon those gathered here, that this meal may be an outpouring of your love and a healing of our rejection. Send that same Spirit upon this bread and wine, that they may be for us the life of Christ. Who at supper with his disciples took bread, gave you thanks …. (narrative of the words of institution). 
Great is the mystery of faith. 
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. 
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. 
Though we are many, we are one body, 
because we all share in one bread. 
Communion is shared
Prayer after communion: May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth to praise your name. Through Christ our Lord, Amen. 

A PROGRESSIVE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION:
WE AFFIRM AND CELEBRATE OUR UNITY AS GOD’S CREATION
As God calls all people to the table of forgiveness, peace, and loving fellowship, (CHURCH NAME) affirms an inclusive and open Communion Table. All persons (all ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations/identities, dis/abilities, religious affiliations, and other distinguishing features) are welcome to partake of this sacrament which affirms that we are all part of God’s family and are to commune together in sacred relationship. Love and peace are the uniting virtues of this spiritual meeting place. Therefore, all who wish to join in this ritual of unity are invited to do so providing that you do so in the spirit of peace and mutual love for one another.
The Purpose of Holy Communion
God seeks to be in communion with us, and wills that we be in communion with one another. Through the Christ in Jesus, God drew closer to us by living among us with all the desires and temptations of being human, and showed us that we each have the power to overcome wrongdoing by the inspiration of our spiritual lives and the discipline of our physical lives; thereby effecting the Christ in us. Jesus represented the individual model of how we each can do this; and in calling to his side the disciples and followers in his way of love and peace, many of whom were ostracized by the wider society, he revealed how to model this in our community here on Earth.
Reminding us symbolically of this union of body and spirit, Jesus took a loaf of bread, broke it like we are often broken in our relationships with one another, and showed us the way to reconciliation by asking us to share our bread with one another in remembrance of his own example. Through the broken bread, we participate in and become the body of Christ in the world.
In like manner, Jesus took the cup filled with the fruit of the vine, the vine that sustains us and links us to one another, and the fruit that nourishes the spirit of virtue that abides within and between each of us, and asked us to drink of that same spirit of loving-kindness and uniting harmony that was in him. Through the cup of blessing, we participate in and become the new life of Christ in the world.
The bread and fruit we partake nourishes us that we may nourish others. Through this sacrament of Holy Communion, we affirm that we are committed to Christ’s way of love and peace by our motives, thoughts, actions, and practices in this world. We acknowledge that we are one community made by God, and that we must consciously choose, day by day, to be in right relationship with God, each other, and our sacred values. We therefore dedicate ourselves, individually and collectively, to make the Body and Spirit of Christ real in this world, here and now, and throughout our life as a community of the faithful. What we symbolize here in this holy space, we make real by our service when we go forth from this place.
Invitation
Christ invites “all” to the table of reconciliation – those who affirm their intrinsic worth, and those who are yet to do so…those whose hearts and minds are admirable, and those still struggling to make them so…those who are most like us, and those who are least like us. In the spirit of Christ, we at (CHURCH NAME) welcome you to share your spiritual journey with us as we share ours with you in a sacrament designed to bridge all differences in a spirit of extravagant welcome, of heartfelt openness, and of mutual loving-kindness. In coming together, let us recognize our responsibility in living in love and peace with one another and all creation so as to be joined together as one Holy Communion of Body and Spirit throughout this good earth.
Partaking of the Bread and Juice
Commissioning
Go forth with forgiveness, courage, faith, hope, love, peace, justice, kindness, and gentleness. May these virtues, representing the image of God in each one of us as was also manifested in Jesus, strengthen you to reach out in compassion as you nurture and aid others within this worldwide community. May the Spirit and grace of God be with you and among you. Blessings be. 
(Source: Communion Liturgy written by Rev. Bret S. Myers)

Words for Invitation
In the name of the One who said, ‘I am the bread of life’,
I invite you to come and eat.
In the name of the One who said, ‘I am the true vine’,
I invite you to come and drink.
In the name of the One who said, “Love one another, as I have loved you”,
I invite you to the table of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Approach
Be present, risen Lord Jesus, as you were with your disciples,
and make yourself known to us in the breaking of the bread;
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of consecration
We thank you that your Spirit is poured out on all people. Send your Spirit now on us and on these gifts of bread and wine, that we may know Christ’s presence, real and true, and be his faithful followers showing your love for the world.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
all honour and glory are yours forever. Amen. 

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. 
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread. 

Creation and communion liturgy
A Liturgy of Creation and Communion – John Van De Laar

A simple communion by John van de Laar

A communion focussed on children’s understanding and participation:
Kids Sunday Communion

Post communion prayer
God our creator,
you feed your children with the true manna,
the living bread from heaven:
let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage
until we come to that place
where hunger and thirst are no more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rex AE Hunt Communion liturgies
New 2014 communion liturgy
Summer communion liturgyAutumn communion liturgy
Autumn-Lent communion liturgy
Winter communion liturgy
Spring communion liturgy
Advent communion liturgy
Christmas Eve communion liturgy
Flowers communion liturgy

Christmas Eve
The Lord of light is with you/And also with you
Open your hearts to where the light shines.
We open our hearts, we offer our minds
Watch and wait/ hope and prepare
Dare to see the divine spark
that makes our darkness safe
that makes our futures possible.
Seize, nurture and share the flame,
the source of all our thanks and praise

A communion liturgy by Kurt Struckmeyer
The eucharistic prayer:
For the power of love in human life and history,
we give thanks and praise.
Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
God of love, spirit of compassion,
bless us and this bread and wine.
May this meal be food and drink for our journey—
renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup
we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The table is ready. All are welcome. Come, for the feast is spread.

As the bread and wine are shared, these words are said:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.

The blessing after the meal:
May this meal nourish us and refresh us,
may it strengthen us and renew us, may it unite us and keep us in God’s gracious love,
now and forever. Amen

Prayer after communion:
Let us pray.
God of love, we give you thanks for satisfying our hungry hearts with this meal.
Send us from here to reveal your love in the world.
Inspire in us the resolve and the courage, the compassion and the passion,
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Amen

Prayer after communion
We have been guests of Jesus Christ.
We have received God’s good gifts.
Now we go to our homes,
to our neighbours, to our work
equipped to put Jesus’ words and being into action, to be the salt of the world,
to seek justice,
to make peace,
to preserve the creation, to gain life. Amen.
(Source: 2nd European Ecumenical Assembly, Graz, Europe, 1997)

Dismissal:
Go forth in service: to fight, work, and pray for the unjust suffering of the innocent in our world*.
(* Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods,” 1519, published in Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960)

Sending prayer after communion
Go!
Go with haste! 
Go fast!
Never stop going out of the church, 
out from the peace and the quietness, 
out to the noise and the uneasiness, 
out to the laughter and the tears. 
Carry with you the bread of life that you received
as a treasure in your hands and in your heart. 
Share it, again and again. 
It will always be enough, 
if you continue to break it. 
Come! 
Never stop coming back to this place!
Never come empty-handed. 
Bring the cry remaining inside. 
Let it sound here. 
Bring the yearning within, 
the struggle yet not won. 
Bring the one that has been your neighbour
without you knowing it. 
Here is the meeting place in the 
reflection of God’s light. 
(Source: Hans Olav Mark)

https://youtu.be/IQYBh4k0NRM

Communion liturgy written by Jenny Ducker, Susan Burt and Judi Hartwig as part of Ruth Duck’s elective session. It is designed to accompany the lectionary Gospel reading for Sunday 6 August – the feeding of the 5000.

Tune: LAND OF REST
More hymns with this tune:
Come Now, and Praise the Humble Saint (G. W. Williams) – https://youtu.be/VZt-sisjQ94
Deliver Us, O Lord of Truth (Herman Stuempfle) – https://youtu.be/TgLerWrS0IY
Here, Master, in This Quiet Place (Fred Pratt Green) – https://youtu.be/Km-hubTN6-0
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (John Newton) – https://youtu.be/KjJOrvytohU
Jerusalem, My Happy Home (F. B. P.; adapt. Joseph Bromehead) – https://youtu.be/jJekrPEa7vk
Show Me Your Hands, Your Feet, Your Side (Sylvia Dunstan) – https://youtu.be/maFjbex9pzs
This Is a Story Full of Love (Brian Wren) – https://youtu.be/cJ-KiGZ4KMc

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette’s Hymns for Communion