Communion Liturgy for General Synod 34 and GS@Home

Invitation
One: The Spirit of Creation is with you!
Many: And the Spirit of Creation walks next to you.
One: Open wide your souls.
Many: We open them to the Creator’s love.
One: Let us give thanks to the God of Earth and Rain.
Many: With joyous voices, hearts, and hands, we exclaim to God our praise.

Prayer of Communion
We delight with our Holy God on this earth, and we rejoice forever in what God has created, is creating, and will be created.  The Spirit of Creation built this vast universe, including our beautiful, strong, and fragile planet.  The earth held the plants and animals in the Garden of Eden.  Later, the earth carried the Israelites on their wilderness journey and while they danced joyously in the promised land.  The earth absorbed the tears of Job, supported the steps of the prophesying Elijah, and carried David in the shadow-filled valleys. Jesus taught on mountains and plains, walked throughout the land healing the aching, and prayed in gardens late at night.  In times of exile and times of return, the land held the stories of our ancestors in faith.  

Today, we abide on this earth in houses of worship, in homes, and in halls.  We know this land we share today is sacred.  It bears much fruit.  It holds the flora of friendships.  And deep within its cells are the stories of its ancestors - parents, guardians, and leaders of the faith.  We know their footprints are still felt by the earth.  

And we remember the ones who held this land as their own centuries ago.  They were the first to tend to the land, to nurture it as a parent would nurture their child.  The winds of occupation seared the land and crushed the hearts and lives of its first inhabitants.  Through the hydrating tears of our God, the land remembered its strength from its ancestors.  In our spaces today, we remember their place on the land and their care for creation.

From the strength of those who have gone before comes the seeds for grains and grapes.  The land has given birth to the fruits of our sacrament.  

With glory to our God, we praise the Spirit of Creation:

All: Holy, Holy, Holy, Spirit of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water,
Heaven and Earth delights in your glory,
Hosanna, Hosanna.
Blessed is the one who brings love and light to our world.
Hosanna to our God.  Alleluia!

On the night before Jesus walked the ground carrying the tree to Golgotha, he gathered with faithful friends.  From the grain in the ground came the bread that Jesus took and broke in his hand.  He blessed the bread and said to his friends “This is my body broken for you.  When you eat this bread, remember me.”

And then after supper, Jesus took a cup filled with the fruit of the vine.  Knowing they were all connected like the vine and branches, Jesus said to them “This cup is the new covenant (in my blood).  As you drink from the cup, remember me.”

Spirit of God, just as you hovered over creation and renewed your church at Pentecost, surround these elements.  Encircle us, energize our souls, and connect us with each living being here on earth.  Just as you have delighted in humans since creation, may your presence create joy in our spirits, transforming us into new beings.

Bless the soil that birthed the grains and grapes that we share today.  May these elements be transformed into a meal that connects us all.  Like the lion and ox, like the lamb and wolf, we eat together - whether near or far, whether well or ill, whether marginalized or privileged.  May this meal be one in which we embrace the power we have and strengthen the world with justice and peace, kindness and love.  Amen.

Distribution of the Elements

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Holy God, Divine Designer-
With gentle compassion, you unite us as vine and branches, whether near or far.  For your meal we share our gratitude.  With thanksgiving we voice our joy for our siblings in faith who shared the table with the Christ and with us.  Our souls are rejuvenated with your Holy Refreshment.  Send us into the world today with joy in our hearts and excited to proclaim your radical love in this world.  Amen.

The Communion Liturgy for General Synod 34 and GS@Home was written by Rev. Michelle L. Torigian.