All Saints Evening Communion Zoom Liturgy
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88689931182; Meeting ID: 886 8993 1182
Phil will lead our communion service at 6pm
You are invited to find a quiet space and bring some bread and wine (or similar) to your table.
Later in the service, there will be the opportunity to light a candle for loved ones you might like to remember.
Call to Worship
O Divine Voice, You sing and the universe comes into being;
O Divine Flesh, You are born among us, and the Creator is clothed in creation;
O Divine Spirit, You contain all that has been formed;
O Divine Life, You are the pulse of all that is.
So in faith and expectation, in wonder and celebration we gather to remember this wonder:
In you all things live and move and have being, In all things, you live and move and express your love.
As the darkness of the night envelops us again, we give you thanks and praise for all the many blessings of this day. As we peer into this night, we remember that night is for stillness. And so we are still in your presence.
Awareness – Based on the Ignatian Daily Examen.
- Rest with God. Be still and aware of God’s presence within and all around.
- Give thanks. The day coming to an end is a gift from God. How might we show gratitude for it?
- Review the day. Where have you glimpsed or particularly needed God’s presence this day?
- Face our shortcomings. What areas of our lives might we invite God to inform, reform or transform?
- Look toward the coming day. Where do we need God’s touch in the night/day to come?
Praise and Confession
O God who gives birth to all that we see, all that we know, all that we dream, and all that is unseen, unknown and unimagined, we celebrate your life that holds and nurtures the universe.
We celebrate your love which joins creation as one and unites all things with you.
We give thanks for your life which is incarnated in Christ
and which is revealed in every created being.
Yet even as we receive again your vision of life,
we recognise that we have turned away from your love.
Even as we remember the connectedness of all things,
we acknowledge that we have divided and separated ourselves,
and forgotten our part in your creation;
Even as we are energised by your breath within us,
we confess our destructiveness,
and repent of the harm we have done to ourselves and our world.
We are sorry and seek your forgiveness. [Time of quiet]
As we bathe in your grace, help us to hear these words of Jesus:
‘Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace. Follow me.’
Amen.
Reading: Matthew 26:17-30
Contemplation
I wonder what was your favourite part of that passage?
I wonder which part surprised or puzzled you?
I wonder what it tells us about God?
I wonder how it helps us to live?
Reflection & candle lighting
‘A family dinner’ remembering the saints who have loved us along the way.
Prayers of intercession
God of all times and seasons, the night is upon us. The day has ended.
What has been done has been done.
What has not been done has not been done; we let it be.
The night is dark.
May our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
May the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night can be long.
We hold in your light those we know who are in particular need of your love, healing, grace.
The night heralds the dawn.
May we look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
Knowing you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God, Amen.
Holy Communion
The invitation is simple: come and eat of the feast.
Not a big meal to nourish the body, but to feed the soul.
We receive the bread and wine connected to the ages:
to the saint of old who felt unworthy, to the seeker eager to know God,
to the teenager who wonders what it’s all about, to the child who eats with unburdened faith.
Threaded through this time, the faith and hopes, the laughter and tears, of generations who have gone before us.
There is great joy to be tasted here. No one is turned away for God is the host!
So, with the cloud of witnesses all around us, we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Tender, transforming God, you have invited us to gather at our tables
To taste the feast and hear the same abundant promises offered to our ancestors in faith.
Time and time again you’ve offered your grace,
Even as we have stepped away, you continue to call us beloved.
We give thanks for this time of celebration.
For the One this meal remembers. For the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
With those who have gone before us, Whose hands touched the bread, whose lips embraced the cup,
We come before you with thanksgiving in our hearts.
God of all, send your Spirit upon your people who, though separated in time and space, are woven together in your transforming love.
As we eat the bread and drink of the cup, make us one with the saints,
and with our sisters and brothers around the world.
Be with us God, not only here and now but in every moment of our lives.
Help us to know you, to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and to live Christ.
Now and forever. Amen.
At that last supper with his friends, Jesus took the leftover bread, broke it and shared it with his disciples saying,
“Take and eat, this is my body broken for you. Do this and remember me.” (Break the bread)
We remember how, after the meal, He took the cup of wine, gave thanks for it and then passed it around with these words:
“This is my blood shed for you. Drink this and remember Me”.
And now, every time we eat bread like this, and every time we drink wine like this,
we remember Jesus, and His everlasting love. (Share the bread and wine followed by a time of quiet)
Sending out
Living God, we thank you for this time, this remembrance, this meal.
Emboldened by the love of our ancestors and the presence of Christ,
help us to be bearers of your light tonight, this coming week and always.
Amen.
We end our time together by sharing words of grace…