Presider: May the Holy One come and abide with you.
All: And also with you.
Presider: Lift up your hearts for a new day approaches.
All: We rejoice in the One who comes.
Presider: Let us give thanks for the gift of hope in Jesus.
All: In joy and gratitude we praise the Holy One.
Sanctus
(a time for quiet as we feel the abiding presence of God)
Presider: In the beginning, the Spirit of God brooded over the earth, blessing all things with the indwelling of goodness and possibility. In time, humanity was called into existence, made in the image of the Maker, but not yet complete or fulfilled. With all creation, we struggled to develop, to learn and to grow. Many are the mistakes made and the errors in our history, but still the Holy One sets signs of hope within human life.
Through prophets and saints, poets and artists, social activists, philosophers and sages in every age, you O God call us to the paths of wisdom and compassion In Jesus, your Beloved, you showed us how to live and how to love. You entrusted Mary with care for him. For us, she modelled the path of obedience and courage. Jesus loved the poor and the disenfranchised. He challenged the rich and powerful to use their assets for the good of others. In each person, he saw the spark of the Maker and the goodness at the heart of every living thing.
As the powers of domination closed around him, Jesus gathered his friends and followers. A woman anointed him as king and prophet, sacrifice and blessing. He said that whenever his story is told, her act is to be remembered. At supper, Jesus took the bread, and said, “This, my body.” In his body, we are one family, one mission, united to him through life and through death. Then he took a cup of wine and he said, “This, my blood.”
As we share in the one cup, we remember that we are one in mission, one in sacrifice, and one in hope. Let us remember the gift of Jesus and his life that flows through our lives.
(a time for quiet)
Memorial Acclamation
Presider: Gracious God, send your Holy Spirit to hover over us now as in the beginning. May this sacrament remind us of your goodness within us and draw us more closely to each other and to the mission of your Beloved. Lift our hearts in hope and stir our imaginations to realize the vision of new birth, the fulfillment of the yearning of the earth. Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, all time and possibility are yours in unity with the Maker and the Spirit.
All: Amen.
(The service continues as is the custom of the community.)
Blessing: Presider: May your hearts be lifted in longing through the power of the Indwelling Spirit. May the passion of Jesus draw you to love others and to love yourselves. May the beauty and love of our Maker, fill you with joyful trust in the unfolding of love and peace. Amen.
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