An Original Blessing Communion Liturgy

In celebration of Original Blessing’s one year publishing anniversary, I’m sharing some goodies with you this week! And if you sign up for my newsletter, I’ll send you a full service liturgy for original blessing, as well as an additional non-traditional blessing service with stations and experiential pieces.

Communion is one of the major places we see original sin in our church life, which is so heartbreaking. For the early church, the table was a celebration of resurrection life, a declaration of God’s love and faithfulness, and a reminder of our need to commune with God in order to grow in God. The Eucharist is an endless mystery, and our liturgy should reflect ALL the facets of it, rather than dwelling only on one.

I hope you find this helpful, and more importantly I hope it will inspire you to write more communion liturgies of your own. You can print a PDF of it by clicking here: Original Blessing Communion Liturgy. And, if you happen to know of a great original blessing-focused communion liturgy, or end up writing one, I’d love for you to share in the comments.

 

A Communion Liturgy of Blessing

Let us gather our hearts

Our hearts are at home in God.

Let us give thanks for God’s unfailing love.

God’s love endures forever.

Let every heart be lifted up

Let us prepare to receive our Christ.

God of all creation, from the beginning you have made this world in love, and you have created us to live in love. We see your glory in the tender orchid, in the thunderous storm, in majestic mountains and the glittering expanse of the sea. All of life is sustained by your Divine Breath, who you sent among us on the day of Pentecost. We rejoice in the works of your hands, and it is right and good for us to give thanks to you, in all times and in all places, with a joyful and grateful heart. And so we join our voices with angels and archangels, and across the span of time and distance in the great cloud of witnesses that is your living Church, a unified chorus of praise:

Holy, holy, holy Lord

God of power and might

Heaven and earth are full of your glory

Hosanna in the highest

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord

Hosanna in the highest

All glory and honor are yours, O God, for you bring life from death, joy from suffering, and dancing from mourning. We give thanks that abundant life is made known to us and present within us in your son Jesus, who has come to live and die as one of us, to reconcile all creation to life, and life everlasting. By him and with him and in him, the web of your love is made whole, and we with it.

Jesus gathered his disciples and said, “Remember me.” And so we do. We remember that he gathered not only his friends but even his betrayer around a common table, sharing the gifts of wheat and vine, the firstfruits from the earth. We remember that he offered himself to us, that we may follow him even beyond death into your eternal love.

Gather us now at your table, O God, that we may be sustained in our journey of faith. May these gifts of the earth be for us the gift of your goodness made present, made known. And grant that we who eat this feast may be filled with your life and goodness.

The gifts of God for the people of God; let us keep the feast.

(The body of Christ given for you, the cup of love poured out for you)

Prayer after communion (Episcopal Church)

Eternal God, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your son, our savior, Jesus Christ. And you have fed us with spiritual food in the sacrament of Eucharist. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us the strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord, Amen.