A Worship Resource ~ Three Settings for Celebrating the

Eucharist.

Susan Thompson, Maureen Calman, David Poultney.

Waikato Waiariki Synod Education Group.A Liturgy used at August Synod 2010 a contemporary bilingual celebration.

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Kia noho a Ihowa ki a koutou.The Lord be with you.

Ma Ihowa koe e manaaki.The Lord bless you.

Ko te ra tenei i hanga e Ihowa.This is the day which the Lord has made.

Kia hari, kia koa tatou.Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A hymn may be sung.

Creator and Healer, you dwell closer to us thanthe air we breathe, yet far surpass all we can know.

We bless you for the stunning beauty of your cosmos,the gifts you unendingly give.

Forgive us our failure to be grateful and to trust you.

Fill our hearts with your courage, and our mindswith your vision of what we might become.

Free us from fear of the dark unknown spaces where yougive birth to new possibilities.

You are a God of adventure, and you took a great risk in creating us.

Empower us to become the community of which your heart dreams.

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Amen.

E Ihowa, tohungia matou:E te Karaiti tohungia matouE Ihowa, tohungia matou:

E to matou Matua i te rangi,kia tapu tou Ingoa.Kia tae mai tou rangatiratanga.Kia meatia tau e pai aiki runga ki te whenua,kia rite ano ki to te rangi.Homai ki a matou aianeihe taro ma matou mo tenei ra.Murua o matou hara,me matou hoki e muru neii o te hunga e hara ana ki a matou.Aua hoki matou e kawea kia whakawaia;engari whakaorangia matou i te kino:nou hoki te rangatiratanga, te kaha, me te kororia,ake, ake, ake. Amine.

Reading - 1 Corinthians 12.12-13

Reflection

A hymn may be sung.

Among friends, gathered round a table,Jesus took bread,and, having blessed it,he broke the breadand gave it to his disciples, saying,

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‘This is my body which is given for you’.

In the same wayJesus took wine,and, having given thanks for it,he poured it outand gave the cup to his disciples, saying,

‘This cup is the new relationship with God,sealed with my blood.’

In sharing this bread and winewe remember the example of Jesus,

the one who shared his life with the poor, the oppressed,the lonely and those rejected by society,the one who lived, was crucified, and raised to new life in God.

In sharing this bread and winewe commit ourselves again to follow Jesus in the Way of the cross,

to share his pain and his joyand to claim the promise of new life for the entire creation.

In sharing this bread and winewe celebrate the faith that gives us life and hope,

we celebrate the journey we have takenwith one another,

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a journey of mutual understanding and partnership,

and we commit ourselves to reflect in the life of the Church todaythe presence we know in the breaking of bread. Amen.

Lord, Holy Spirit,in the love of friends you are building a new house.Heaven is with us when you are with us.You are singing your song in the hearts of the poor.Guide us, wound us, heal us.Bring us to the Father.Amen.

Breaking of the bread.By the sharing of this bread and wine, may we bring each other into fullness of life.

Sharing the bread and wine.

Blessed be God who calls us together.Praise to God who makes us one people,a new community of grace, diversity and hospitality.Amen.

A hymn may be sung.

Haere i runga i te rangimarie i runga i te aroha me te ngakau hihiko ki

te mahi ki te Ariki.Go now to love and serve the Lord. Go in peace.

Amine. Ka haere matou i runga i te ingoa o te Karaiti.Amen. We go in the name of Christ.

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Ma te marie a te Atuatatou katoa e tiaki;mana ano e whakauo tatou ngakau ki te pai.

Ma te Atua Tamaiti ra,ma te Wairua Tapu hoki,ratou, Atua kotahi nei.Tatou katoa e whakapai.Amine.

(Sources: A New Zealand Prayer Book, Kathleen Fischer in Alive Now, James K. Baxter, “Song to the Holy Spirit”, )

Emmaus Eucharist Maureen Calman 1997 & 2004

Gather outside and explain

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We gather in the name of God: Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life. AMEN.

Gospel: Luke 24: 13 - 17 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.

Stand still, consider: what in us makes us sad as we look at Jesus?Silence, time for reconciliation.

God has compassion on you. Be at peace.Invite them to pass the candle when ready and use their hands to draw the light of Christ towards them and to move to lounge.

Gospel Luke 24: 18 -27Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find the body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them,

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“Oh how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

Time of reflection and prayer. Talk of a time when the Scriptures or Jesus have come alive

for you.Move to table.

Gospel: Luke 24: 28 - 31 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight.Pass the bread.Luke tells us elsewhere that: 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.” Lk. 22:20 NRSVPass the cup.silenceMove back to lounge.

Gospel: Luke 24: 32 - 35 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.silence / time for thanks

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Blessing: May Jesus who walked the Emmaus Road walk our journey with us. Blessing or The Grace.

“As Though All Humankind Around One Table Stood.”

A Celebration of the Eucharist for Ordinary Time. David Poultney.

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“Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Thy Church

be gathered together from the ends of the Earth into Thy Kingdom.”

(From the Didache, The Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles.)

Lighting the Candle. We light this candle as a sign that this is sacred time, and holy space. God is always present to us and now we are consciously and deliberately present to God.

Call to Worship. Let us acknowledge the company in: the faithful who worshipped before us; the hundreds of thousands of every place and language and generation who, on the Lord’s day set their lives within the atmosphere of renewing grace. As we think of them, let us take encouragement from our unity with them all.

Prayer. God our Creator, you form us, you call us to be your people. In every generation and place you invite us into your friendship and to the building of love in the world.

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In the story of Israel, and its witness to the nations. In the life of Jesus and his words and actions. In the abiding Spirit, who binds us, forms us, empowers us, you call us again and again. Today we hear again the calling to yourtable to a shared life,to a world in which every life is sacred, every person celebrated. We are awed by your vision, challenged by your inclusion, moved by your steadfast love. In that challenge we realise our need to grow. To love more, to be more just, to will for all people a life treasured, a voice heard, a place at the tableso being moved, so being challenged, let us live in a spirit of generosity, mercy and inclusion. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer.

A Prayer on the Theme of the Day. God of inclusive love, who invites all people into friendship with you. May we be inspired to see every person as our sister or brother and to work tirelessly for a world in which we all may grow and flourish.

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We ask this in the name of Jesus, who is your way amongst us. Amen.

The Scriptures.

A Reflection.

Affirmation of Faith.

Prayers of Thankfulness and Care for Others.

The Offertory.Living God, take our hands, take our lives, ordinary as wheat or cornmeal, daily as bread - our stumbling generosity, our simple actions, and find them good enough to help prepare the feast for all your people. Amen.

The Peace. How can we say we love God, who we cannot

see, if we do not love our neighbour, who we can see? The peace of God be with you always. And also with you. Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

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Blessing. We set aside this bread and wine, food and drink, everyday things. We put them to a special use, as we share once again in remembering Jesus. May these ordinary things waken us to the power of the holy in all things, and may all our sharing be a sacrament. Amen.

God is here, the Spirit is with us. Lift up your hearts, we lift them up to our God. Let us give thanks to God, as we remember once again the one whose living and dying showed us the heart of God.

The Great Thanksgiving. It is good and right that we offer you our praise, God of heaven and earth, in your love all that is came to be. From the beginning you have longed for us and offered us a life beyond our imagining. At the right time you made that offer in Jesus, in whose life your life shines through, and in whose living and dying we find the depth of your compassion. In lively memory of Jesus and together with all, who in every age, have chosen to follow him we say:

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Holy, holy, holy, God of heaven and earth, all creation echoes your praise, hosanna in the highest. Blessed be our brother Jesus, who on the night before he was killed, shared a meal with his friends. While they were at table he took some bread, said a blessing and broke it saying:

“Take this all of you and eat it, this is my body, broken for you, do this to remember me.” Later he took a cup of wine, said a blessing and gave it to his friends saying: “Take this all of you and drink it, this is the cup of my blood, the promise of a new relationship with God. Do this as often as you drink it, to remember me.” In this bread and cup we remember Jesus, and the hope he brings. Come Spirit of God, touch this bread and this cup that we might find food and drink for our Journey.

Touch us too, that we might grow evermore into the image of the one for whom we are named Christian. Amen.

The Breaking of Bread. This bread we break,

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this cup we share, the bonds of love and memory between us, all these are signs of the Kingdom.

Te Haahi Weteriana / The Methodist Church of New Zealand keeps an open table. Any person here who would like to share

with us in this meal is very welcome to do so.

The wholeness of God is offered for our brokenness, come, eat, remember.

Prayer after Communion. Here we have eaten bread like a life shared, and drank wine like love given and poured out. May this meal challenge us to generosity, to hand ourselves over into the power and possibility of God and to discover the power and possibility God gifts to each of us. Amen.

Closing Prayer. Like a rock, God is under our feet. Like a roof, God is over our heads. Like the horizon, God is beyond us. Like water in a jug,

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God is within us and in the pouring out of us. Like a pebble in the sea, we are in God. Let us go out and change our world as God has changed our lives. Amen.

The Grace.

Acknowledgements. Reflection before worship from the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Date: late first or early second century. Call to Worship from The Worship Source Book. Grand Rapids (MI): CRC Publications. 2004. Offertory Prayer by Janet Morley: All Desires Known. London: SPCK. 1988. Eucharistic Prayer, David Poultney, 2009. Closing prayer adapted from a prayer by John Howell in Ruth Duck & Maren Tirabassi (eds.) Touch Holiness. Resources for Worship. Cleveland (OH): United Church Press. 1990.

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