The Great Thanksgiving
Text (excluding hymns) by Marilyn Ferrell
Presider: O God, the Source and Unity of the Universe
All: May we abide in you
Presider: O Christ in us
All: May you fill our Spirit
May we follow Jesus, born among us, who walked with the outcast, the marginalized, the oppressed and the homeless and said to us, ‘[Whenever] you do it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do it unto me’ – calling us to see you in all who suffer.
As we gather around your table, we are reminded that Jesus accepted the cross on Golgotha to share our suffering and identify with our pain, our woundedness and our separation.
You especially suffer and identify with those of us who are homeless and forgotten and who try to numb the pain of abuse and neglect.
Your cross reminds us that by sharing in your compassion, we make whole the sacrament.
So we sing/say together:
Now with the mind of Christ set us on fire,
That unity be our great desire.
Give joy and peace;
Give faith to hear your call,
And readiness in each to work for all. (Tune: Morecambe VU:378)
On the night that he accepted the cross, Jesus took the bread and broke it, saying “This is my body that was broken for you.”
He reminds us, that in our death, we too return to the earth, uniting with you to become nutrients for new life.
Jesus took the wine, and blessed it, saying ‘This is my blood, shed for you and for many.’
He reminds us, that in death, we will be united and transformed with Jesus in being part of the water that quenches the thirst for new life.
We sing/say together:
One bread, one body,
One Christ of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless
We, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Christ. (VU:467)
For you, O Christ, are the Great Flaming Forth which created the stars, the constellations, the planets, their suns, and the earth, our island home.
You, the light of the world, are the light in our daylight — the photosynthesis that enlivens us, nurtures us, and gives us life.
Pour out your Living Spirit on these gifts and on us.
May your sacrament, the sharing of bread and wine, heal and dispel our wounding illusion that we are separate from you.
We are reminded that we are One with you, with all creation, and with each other. We are all one, united in you as we sing/say:
Fire of God, undying flame,
Incarnated you came,
Let your heat my soul refine,
‘til it glows with love divine. (VU:209)
O Christ, you are the glory of God, whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
For it is in you, and with you, O Christ, that we live and move and have our being.
We live and die as One in you to nurture new life and bring forth your Kingdom.
AMEN.
