Pastor's Prayer for World Communion Sunday

Here’s a pastor’s prayer for World Communion Sunday from Leonard Sweet’s Preach the Story website.

World Communion Sunday: Pastor’s Prayer

Wondrous God of infinite love and boundless compassion

Mark our hearts with the seal of your handiwork

Create within us the joy of being in your presence.

Stitch into our souls the desire to serve,

the power to heal,

and the capacity to love deeply and genuinely.

Mold us into reservoirs of hope,

that we might pour out your bountiful blessings

upon all of your people.

May this time we partake of the body and blood of Jesus

unite us in the community of saints who know your love

and proclaim your Son with fervor and grace

to a broken and hurting world.

May your healing hands be the salve

for ending hurt and violence in this world,

even as we prepare for the next.

In the holy Name of Jesus. Amen. 

~ written by Leonard Sweet, posted on Preach the Story. https://preachthestory.com/

Affirmation of Unity

Here’s an affirmation of faith, suitable for use anytime, but especially on Reformation Day (October 31), World Communion Sunday (first Sunday in October), and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25). It was written by Nolan Palsma.

Affirmation of Unity

We share one faith,

have one calling,

are of one soul and one mind;

have one God and Father,

are filled with one Spirit,

are baptized with one baptism,

eat of one bread and drink of one cup,

confess one Name,

are obedient to one Lord,

work for one cause,

and share one hope.

Together we come to know

the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ;

are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity;

know and bear one another’s burdens,

thereby fulfilling the law of Christ

that we need one another and up build one another,

admonishing and comforting one another;

that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness.

Together we pray; together we serve God in this world. 

~ written by Nolan Palsma, and printed in “Prayerful Preparation: Living God, Renew Us.” Published by the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and posted at http://wcrc.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GC2017-PrayerfulPreparation-English.pdf. 

Benediction for World Communion Sunday

Here’s a closing commission and benediction for World Communion Sunday. It was written by Rev. Gord, and posted on Worship Offerings.

Commission & Benediction:

World Communion Sunday

Grain which once was scattered over the fields

was brought together to feed us today.

Grapes pulled from the vine

squeezed to give us drink today.

Now our time of worship and feasting draws to a close.

Now we are dispersed like that grain,

off to give the food of life to a hungry world.

Now we who have shared the Banquet of Hope,

go out as people connected to the vine,

go out to bring the juice of life

where the world has been drained dry.

As people who have been fed,

go now to feed the world.

As those who have been given hope,

bring hope in place of despair.

May God help us to do so.

And always remember

that we are never cut off from the Source.

The Bread of Life, the True Vine is with us always.

And so we always share in Hope’s Banquet.

Thanks be to the One who hosts the banquet! Amen.

~ written by Rev Gord, and posted on Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca

Invitation to the Table: World Communion Sunday

Here’s an invitation to communion on World Communion Sunday.  It comes from the Presbyterian Church USA.

Invitation to the Table

World Communion Sunday

Friends, this is the joyful feast of unity.

Christ has gathered his people around the earth

to commune at this table.

Across political lines and economic lines,

in places of powerfully protected affluence,

and among the poorest of the poor,

we share a meal,

remembering and celebrating the One who proved shalom possible.

And so, come:

you from the East and you from the West,

from the North and from the South.

Come.

Come with your doubts,

come with your hopes,

come with your inadequacies

and with your strengths.

Come,

for this is a table where all are invited

and all are welcome.

~ from 2010 World Communion Day – Worship Resource – PCUSA.  Posted on http://www.claudiocarvalhaes.com/

Pastoral Prayer: World Communion Sunday

Here’s a prayer of petition and intercession for World Communion Sunday.  It was written by Rev. Abi.

 

Prayer for World Communion Sunday

Lord as we gather around this wonderful meal 

everywhere and in every place; 

bless us all your children.

As we eat this bread and drink this cup

linking arms around the world,

pour your grace into us all.

Grace us with your presence

as we quietly and loudly pray to you.

May we see in each other

your light, your love and you.

May it not matter our differences,

our names, our languages,

our looks, and our way of doing things.

May what matter today and everyday be that we are one in you.

And as we pray many we call to mind our brothers and sisters

who are unable to be with us today whether in body or spirit.

May you bring comfort to those who are grieving, lonely,

heartbroken, ill or broken of spirit.

May you strengthen those whose lives feel shattered,

don’t make sense, in crisis, and experiencing  loss.

May you say the healing word to those who need it.

May you bring the human touch of love

to those who have not been touched.

May you love the unloved through us.

May you shine your light

into those whose world is covered in darkness.

May you use us to feed the hungry,

clothe the ones who need clothes,

give a cup of water to those who are thirsty,

shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison.

May lives be awakened to you, Lord,

to your love and to your kingdom

whose door is always open to all.

~ written by Rev Abi and posted on A Place for Prayer. http://revgalprayerpals.blogspot.ca/

Call to Worship: World Communion Sunday

Here’s a call to worship for World Communion Sunday. It was written by Rev. Gord, and posted on Worship Offerings.

Call to Worship for World Communion Sunday

Around the world people gather to break bread and pour wine.

We gather with them in heart and mind.

Around the world the broken body is made whole.

As part of that body we join in its unity.

Around the world the Banquet of God is prepared for the table.

We, who share in the banquet, come eagerly to be fed.

Let us worship together, let us share God’s bounty.

Let us pray…

~ written by Rev Gord, and posted on Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/

Blessing for World Communion Sunday

Here’s a blessing for World Communion Sunday.  It was written by Jan L. Richardson.

Blessing:

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.

~ written by Jan L. Richardson, and posted on The Painted Prayerbook. http://paintedprayerbook.com/

Call to Worship, Prayer: World Communion Sunday

Here’s a call to worship and prayer of the day from Thom Shuman.

Call to Worship

Welcome to this place:

where children and seasoned citizens sit side by side,

where heaven and earth embrace in peace,

where God has been, is, and always will be.

Welcome to this place, as we gather with all of God's children:

where we find God's love,

where we hear the tender voice of Jesus,

where the Spirit teaches us new songs.

Welcome to this place, where all is made ready by our God:

where we bring our hunger, and find food;

where we our brokenness, and find healing;

where we bring our very selves, and find acceptance.

Prayer of the Day

We will not find

that needed justice

in our apathy;

we will not find

that elusive wholeness

with our quarreling;

we will not find

our hoped for unity

with our doctrines;

we will not find

our misplaced love

with our hating;

we will not find

that rest we crave

in our overflowing planners;

we will not find

the peace you offer

in our well nursed grudges.

but

we will find you

in the brokenness of the Bread

and in the breaking of our hearts;

we will find you

when we drain the Cup,

refill it with our gifts,

and offer it to a little child;

we will find you

when we squeeze closer together,

making room at the Table

for all your people.

Help us to find you,

God in Community, Holy in One,

even as we pray together, saying,

Our Father . . .

~ written by Thom Shuman, and posted on Lectionary Liturgies.  Visit that site for many other excellent worship resources.  http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.ca/

Call to the Table: World Communion Sunday

Here’s an invitation to the Table written for World Communion Sunday (celebrated by churches around the globe on the first Sunday in October).  It was written by Joanna Harader.

Invitation to the Table

Leader: We gather around the Table in places far and near
Side 1: Eating Sourdough, Rye, Tortillas
Side 2: Crackers, Wafers, and Wonderbread–
All:       The body of Christ.
Leader: Drinking the wine or the juice
Side 1: from handmade chalices and silver goblets,
Side 2: golden spoons and little mini cups–
All:       The blood of Christ.
Leader: The bread and the cup unite us with all who would follow Jesus.
Side 1: This meal reaches back through the centuries.
Side 2: This table reaches around the world.
All:       Let us eat and drink with joy.

~ written by Joanna Harader, and posted on her Spacious Faith blog. http://spaciousfaith.com/      

See also the Great Thanksgiving she wrote for World Communion Sunday.  http://spaciousfaith.com/2011/09/28/wednesday-worship-piece-world-communion-sunday/

For more worship resources for World Communion Sunday, see this Christian Unity Resources Index.

Litany: Setting the Table

Here’s is a litany of preparation at the Lord’s Table.  It was written by Anita Monro.

Setting the Table

Grain is gathered from the field;

threshed and milled for flour.

We are formed from the grain of God’s harvest.

Flour is mixed with water to produce basic dough.

The water of baptism unites us.

Yeast is added to transform the mixture.

The vision of God’s realm draws us onwards.

Oil softens the dough and makes a new texture.

The Holy Spirit anoints us as the body of Christ.

A little salt improves the taste.

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth.

The bread is kneaded and shaped, molded and baked.

It is God who makes us a holy communion.

Grapes are harvested and crushed for juice.

You are the vine, we are the branches, O Christ.

Juice and skins are mixed with yeast for fermentation.

God’s reign is coming. God’s hope is here.

There is a time of waiting; then a time of pressing.

God’s new life presses forth through the sediment of our lives.

And finally, the feast is here!

Let us celebrate the feast of our life in God.

~ written by Anita Monro and posted on the MAD-e-Lena blog. http://mad-elena.blogspot.com/   

Litany: Preparing the Table

Here’s a litany of preparation for use at the Lord’s Table. It was written by Brian Wren.

Litany: What do you bring?

What do you bring to Christ’s table?
We bring bread,
made by many people’s work
from an unjust world
where some have plenty
and most go hungry.

At this table, all are fed
and no one turned away.
Thanks be to God

What do you bring to Christ’s table?
We bring wine,
made by many people’s work
from an unjust world
where some have leisure
and most struggle to survive

At this table, all share the cup
of pain and celebration
And no one is denied.
Thanks be to God

These gifts shall be for us
the body and blood of Christ,
Our witness against hunger,
our cry against injustice,
And our hope for a world
where God is fully known
And every child is fed.
Thanks be to God

~ written by Brian Wren, from ‘Bread of Tomorrow’, ed. Janet Morley, Christian Aid/SPCK 1992.  Posted on the Monthly Prayers page of the Christian Aid website.  http://www.christianaid.org.uk/

Communion Prayer: Inside and Outside

Here’s a prayer at the table written by Brian Cubbage.

God of the Inside and Outside

God,

You are God indeed, the God of all.

You are God of our comings and goings and strivings,

and you are God of all that we cannot master or manage, force or control.

You are God of our hopes and dreams, our scheming and our plans,

but you are also God of all we attempt to wall out, to wall in,

to force-feed or resuscitate or kill,

but which bleeds through and around anyway.

You are Alpha and Omega,

beginning and end,

the front and the tain of the mirror.

We encounter you, God, broken and scattered,

in the bread and the wine,

both without and within,

inside the margins and outside of them too,

God in death and loss

but also God of new life

and joys beyond death and loss.

In receiving these gifts may we learn to be,

like these wide-scattered gifts,

nimble navigators of boundaries and barriers,

both those which wall up life

and those which nourish and sustain life.

We ask this in your name,

the loving, the just, the merciful, the one God everlasting,

in Jesus the Christ,

and in the overflowing promiscuous ecstasy of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

— written by Brian Cubbage, and posted on LiturgyLink. http://www.liturgylink.net/

Table Prayer: Christ in Our Midst

Here’s a prayer at the Table written by Katherine Hawker

Prayer at the Table

Welcome:

And so we gather at the table.
We come from many places,
differing in age, differing in race,
differing in orientation, politics and even religion.
As we come together around the table
we discover that our differences are not something we tolerate
but that our differences are indeed a blessing,
the more difference we bring, the more fully we experience
the presence of the sacred in our midst.
So come, children of God, just as you are.
Wherever you are on this journey of life, you are welcome here,
here in this place, here in this community, here at this table.
Come, children of God, come and remember with us.

Remembrance:

We remember the stories that Jesus’ friends tell,
stories of bread broken and shared, feeding a multitude,
stories of being gathered together, enemy and friend, around tables,
stories of unlikely guests revealing the face of the sacred.

They say that that
it was on a night of both celebration and betrayal
that he took the bread leftover on the table,
blessed it and broke it;
reminding them that it is
in the breaking that we become whole,
in losing our lives that we find them,
in serving that we are served.
As the grain scattered becomes one in the loaf,
when we eat this bread, we become one with one another.

They say that he took the cup also leftover on the table,
poured out and sharing,
remembering with them, the life-giving breath
even now pounding a rhythm through our veins,
the breath of life from whence we come
the breath that precedes and follows all that we can see
As the grapes find life in the vine,
when we drink this cup,
we become at one with the source of life itself.

Blessing:

And so we pray:
Come, holy Spirit, come.
Bless this bread and
bless this fruit of the vine.
Bless all of us in our eating and drinking that our eyes might be open,
that we might recognize the risen Christ in our midst,
indeed in one another.
Come, holy Spirit, come.

— written by Katherine Hawker, and posted on Liturgy Outside. http://www.liturgyoutside.net/

For more worship resources for Easter, click on Easter in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.

Prayer at the Table: Transform Us

Here’s a beautiful communion prayer suitable for use on Transfiguration Sunday or at Epiphany.  It comes from the Cokesbury website.

Communion Prayer: Epiphany, Transfiguration

Pour out your Holy Spirit
on all gathered here,
that we might be your light in the world.

Pour out your Holy Spirit
on these gifts of bread and wine,
that we might be infused with the gift
of your nourishing guidance.

Transform us with your nourishing grace,
even as we eat of this bread
and drink of this wine.

Transfigure us to be your presence in the world,
even as we are redeemed and reclaimed
by your great love.

By your Spirit, make us one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to the world,
until Christ comes in final victory,
and we feast at the heavenly banquet.

Through Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty God,
now and forever more.
Amen.

— from the Abingdon Worship Annual, posted on the Cokesbury website. http://www.cokesbury.com/