Easter Great Prayer
In this service there has been a cross lying at the entrance to the area where we celebrate communion. This was placed there on Good Friday. Stones and thorns and rose petals were laid at the cross during the service On Easter morning the cross is gone, and a large grave stone lies in its place. People will walk over or around these objects to come to the Communion Table.
Call to Communion:
On the night on which Jesus was betrayed,
he sat at supper with his disciples.
While they were there eating,
he took a piece of bread,
said a blessing, broke it and gave it to them with the words,
"This is my body
It is broken for you
Do this to remember me"
Later on he took a cup of wine, saying,
"This cup is God's new covenant,
sealed with my blood,
Drink from it, all of you, to remember me."
It is Easter Day.
Come to the table of the Lord.
Walk over the place where the symbols of death are lying.
Walk past the place where we have left the hard things of life.
Walk beyond the stone
that has been rolled away from the tomb,
and find that he is risen.
Begin life again this Easter morning.
Come and eat the meal of a new day and a new life,
where we discover that Christ is risen indeed.
The People come forward.
Let us pray.
We are descended from the people of Israel.
Abraham and Sarah are our forbears.
We are among those who loved God, and were faithful
Ruth, the mother of Jesse is our mother.
We are among those who left the way of God behind
Too often we have hardened our hearts and become
children of Pharaoh.
We are among those who held the faith through long suffering
Job is our father
and we are among the lost
who seek a path back to the ways of God
We are prodigal, faith-less and faith-full.
In Jesus the Christ the path of life
has been re-laid before us.
God has given to us the pioneer of our faith.
There is a way to follow
a person to copy
a freedom to grasp
forgiveness to be known
and life to receive.
Dear God…
Unknown beyond all we can conceive…
Deepest longing in our small and fragile hearts…
More than we dare hope for…
Gentle beyond all we deserve…
Generous without measure…
We thank you for the gift of the Christ
whom we find in our hearts
and in living out our love for each other.
We thank you that in him
we find you…
and life, meaning, and salvation.
In gratitude for our lives
in wonder at your love
we eat his meal together. Amen
Fraction and Elevation
The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ
The cup we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ
These are the gifts of God for you and for me
the people of God.
Distribution
Prayer after Communion
Surprising God
Renewing God
Fill us with courage
to go out and live your good news in all the world.
Amen.
Andrew Prior
