CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Praise God! Alleluia! Alhamdullilah!
All: We praise the God of all creation.
One: Peace, salaam, shalom!
All: We come, praying for peace for all the nations.
One: We come with sumud— steadfastness - in solidarity with our global siblings.
All: We worship God, we follow Christ’s call, and we follow the guidance of the Spirit.
One: Let us worship the one God, source of all life, ground of all being. Yallah! - Let’s go!
All: Let us worship God!
INVOCATION
God of all the nations, as we gather on this World Communion Sunday, we acknowledge that all is not right in the world. We long for peace-- in Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, Ukraine, Sudan, and in all the places where there is violence and war. We grieve our nation’s own contributions to that violence. Help us to remain steadfast in our commitment to global justice and peace. Open our hearts to our siblings throughout the world and open our hearts to your Spirit. In the name of Jesus, our savior, we pray, Amen.
COMMUNION LITURGY
May God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us open our hearts.
We open them to God and to one another.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right and good to give our thanks and praise. Alleluia, Alhamdullilah!
God of peace and justice, after 40 days and nights on the ark, Noah and his family knew it was safe to come back to the land after a dove brought back an olive branch. Since then, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace and stability in your Holy Land and beyond.
Yet we mourn that at this time in your Holy Land, O God, there is no peace, no stability, no justice. We mourn that tomorrow will mark one year since the devastating events of October 7, when 1200 of our Jewish siblings were killed. We mourn that tomorrow will also mark 365 days of relentless death and destruction in Gaza, with over 40,000 of our Palestinian siblings killed, nearly 20,000 of them children. We mourn the destruction of olive trees in the West Bank– one of the most important sources of livelihood for Palestinian farmers– bulldozed by the Israeli military, and set fire to and uprooted by illegal settlers.
We confess that we have grown tired of hearing about this war, and other places of violence in our world. We confess our own nation’s complicity through the supply of bombs, artillery shells, and other weapons. We confess our sense of powerlessness and hopelessness.
And yet, O God, you remain faithful. You have not given up on your people in the Holy Land, and you do not give up on any of your children. You were faithful 2000 years ago when you sent us your son Jesus. Born under Roman occupation, in Bethlehem, and then a refugee in Egypt. Raised in Nazareth, baptized in the Jordan. He called his disciples while in the Galilee and journeyed through the Golan and along the Mediterranean coast, through Samaria and then back to Palestine, to Jerusalem. He rejoiced with all who rejoiced and wept with all who wept. He restored the alienated and made whole the broken. He listened with understanding and spoke your word of hope. He worked wonders to reveal your glory, and offered your peace to all.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus remained faithful to his friends, gathering them for a meal. During the meal he took the bread, broke it, and said to his disciples, “this is the bread of life, broken for all for the restoration and reconciliation of all creation. Each time you eat this bread, do so in remembrance of me.” Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup, and share it with his disciples, saying, “this is the cup of God’s renewed covenant with humanity, poured out for the sake of peace, love, and justice in the world. Each time you drink from this cup, do so in remembrance of me.”
Let us pray... Holy God, pour out your Spirit upon this bread and this cup, and upon all of your children gathered, wherever they may be. May your spirit of peace be embraced throughout the earth on this world communion Sunday, and especially in your Holy Land. “War is a monster that consumes everything in its path. Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, Jews, and people of all faiths. Let us burn candles, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies. Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries. We beg for love and compassion to prevail on all your holy mountains.”* Nourish us with this holy meal and empower us to be instruments of your peace. May there be peace within ourselves, our homes, our community, our nation, and our world. May there be peace on earth. Peace, Salam, Shalom. In your everlasting name we pray, Amen.
by Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals
*from A Prayer for Peace for Israel and Palestine, by Rose Marie Berger,