Community of Christ
Lent 2008

T  r  a  n  s  i  t  i  o  n

+ Gathering

L:  To gain life, we must lose life.  We must go into the wilderness, and return renewed.  
C:  We gather today to be broken, and to be born anew.           

+ The Scattered With Us

L:  As we embrace community transition and change, we acknowledge the individual lives – near and far – that make us who we are. 

(Reading from Lenten Book, or other reflection)
        
C:  Lord, we are the body of Christ.  Let us remember the joys and pains of all our members.  They are the Community’s joys and pains.

+ Lenten Hymn:  “Take, Oh, Take Me As I Am”

Take, oh, take me as I am
                  Summon out what I shall be
                 
Set your seal upon my heart
                  And live in me.

+ Prayer

God, so much activity surrounds us.  For what we can and cannot impact, we pray. 

For discussions about the future of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, 
We pray for civility, equality, and progress.

For the shopping center in Columbia Heights that will change so much near 14th Street,
We pray for all the people who will be impacted.

For the lives of our neighbors – especially youth – shattered by continued violence,
We pray for hope, reconciliation, and restoration. 

For the District, surrounding areas, and towns across the country that Community members call home,
We pray for wholeness and growth.

For our nation in an election year as it considers the meanings of security, opportunity, and hope,
We pray for leadership.

God, so much activity within also affects our journeys.
We pray for support and guidance.

For the tensions in our souls, and the conflicts between members of this Community,
We ask for humility, forgiveness, and healing.

For the brokenness of spirit, mind, and body,
We ask for strength and care.

For our desire to know and control,
We ask for trust and patience.           

For transitions in life – high school, separation, vocations, new tenants, hospice – and the emotions they prompt and decisions they require,
We ask for understanding – and we give thanks.           

We bring these and other prayers before you, Lord.  Amen.   

(Silent prayer)

+ Hymn of Praise
                    
+ The Word

• Hebrew Scripture
• Psalm
• Epistle 
• Gospel 

+ Homily

+ Hymn of the Day

+ Prayers of the Community
We bring our thanks, our concerns, and our intercessions before God and each other.  As individuals, and as the Community, we confess, forgive, and support.    
(A time of silent and spoken prayer)
All our prayers, spoken and unspoken, we offer to God, trusting and believing that God hears and answers.   
Lord, hear our prayers.  And give us the quiet and courage to hear you.  Amen. 
+ Greeting of Peace
How can we experience the mystery of life through brokenness – if we can’t embrace and share a simple gaze and word of support, being at peace with our brothers and sisters?

In that spirit, let us greet each other in God’s peace. 

+ Offertory Hymn

+ Offertory Prayer
           
Blessed are you, O God, giver of all things.
Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts.  
We offer with thanksgiving what you have given us:
our lives, our time, and our possessions.

Bless this bread, this wine, and our offerings.
May they bring light to those who walk in darkness
and hope to those who live in despair.
With these gifts we offer ourselves to your service
And dedicate our lives to sharing your love with the world through the many communities of which we are a part and define who we are.  Amen. 

Christ now invites to his table
All who long for the good news of the kingdom, which we seek to understand
All who endeavor to live at peace with their neighbors, who we seek to know and love
All who seek the forgiving mercy of God, which is a gift – a gift – like no other. 

+ Breaking of Bread

Blessed are you, O God, Creator of all life and the source of all compassion.
We thank you for life, for the world you have given us, and for the new world to come.

We thank you that in your great love you sent Jesus to live among us, to reveal your presence, to call us to repentance, to proclaim the good news of your kingdom.
        
We thank you that you vindicated Jesus’ death with victory and that we know life is the final word.

Pour out your Holy Spirit, that in this communion we may know the unity we share in the body of Christ, living as your sign of peace and hope for all people.

Join our prayers with those everywhere; with those worshipping right now across this city; and with those searching for places and communities to grow.  We sing your 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 our God.
Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna in the highest. 

Jesus cherished his time at the table with his disciples.  Jesus’ disciples were his most intimate community; his friends; his students struggling to comprehend.  He said to them: “I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer.”  Then he took bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: “This is my body which is given for you.  Do this in memory of me.” 

He gave them the cup of wine after supper, saying: “Take this and drink from it, this cup is God’s new covenant sealed with my blood shed for you and all people.  Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.”
By eating this bread and drinking this cup,
We proclaim Christ’s death,
celebrate Christ’s resurrection,
and await Christ’s coming again. 

Let us pray as our Lord has taught us.
Merciful God in heaven, Holy be your name.
May your new day come, your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us each day our daily bread,
Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the new day, the power, and the glory are yours,
Amen. 

As we break bread we come together in the healing body of Christ.  This community joins hands that are strong and shaking, full and empty.
As we pour wine we come together in the new life Christ gives.  This community shares a cup that helps us see each other as Christ sees us.   

May our eyes and hands be opened to the needs of family, friends, and strangers, especially those not in our Daybooks or Palm Pilots.
And our hearts to the sharing of God’s gifts with all the world. 
Make yourself known to us in the breaking of bread and the pouring of wine.
Renew us and let us know the wilderness is not forever.
“It’s all gift.”                                                                        (Walt Scarvie)

The gifts of God for the people – the beloved – of God. 

+ Communion 
 
+ Blessing 

In this Eucharist, we affirm our belief
In God, who created all that exists.
In Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Lord.
In the Holy Spirit, who sustains and renews us. 

In this Eucharist, we hear the call:
To become who we were created to be.
To accept the joy and cost of discipleship.
To live, serve, and worship as the Community of Christ. 

In this Eucharist, we receive the promise:
Of forgiveness of sins,
Of courage in the struggle for peace with justice,
Of eternal life in the reign of God already begun.  Amen. 

+ Closing Hymn

+ Benediction

We need not fear the wilderness.  Or waiting.  Or transition.  Or death. 
Go now and let this neighborhood, city, and world know that we will be born anew.        
Amen.