The Great Thanksgiving for the Ministry of Presence

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Almighty God, with thankful hearts we praise you for the amazing love,
grace, and forgiveness you gave to us through Jesus Christ.

Jesus showed up in his ministry - over and over again.

He showed up and performed miracles.

He showed up and healed the sick.

He showed up at Lazarus’s tomb and the house of Jarius and raised the dead.

He showed up where a woman was bleeding and stopped the blood.

He showed up where a woman was going to be stoned
and stopped the violence.

He showed up over and over again and stumped
and amazed religious and political leaders.

He showed up and where there was death there was now life,
and where there was sickness there was now health,
and where there was sorrow there was now feasting.

Jesus showed up for the lost, the least, and the outcast.

And all his showing up and standing up for the least of these,
worried and frightened those in power.
And so, on the night before he was betrayed and killed by the state,
he was gathered together with his disciples at a table like this,
he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,
gave it to his disciples and said:
"Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you,
do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, he took the cup, blessed it,
gave it to his disciples and said:
"Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood of the New Covenant,
poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

And after his death, he showed up again, in resurrected form to his disciples
- first the women at the tomb and then the rest. 

He showed up and made himself known in the breaking of the bread.

We pray that God shows up today.
That we would know Jesus through the breaking and sharing of this bread.
And so we pray:

Holy, Loving God, pour out your Spirit on us gathered here

And on these gifts of bread and juice.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ

That we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed and reconciling.

And in the coming of your Holy Spirit,
Fill us with new life - help us to show up for others,
to be the body of Christ, redeemed and reconciling to the world.

Through your Son Jesus Christ, 

With the Holy Spirit in your holy church,

All honor and glory is yours, almighty God,

Now and forever, Amen.

- A Great Thanksgiving for the Ministry of Presence. Written by The Rev. Allison LeBrun.
Originally written for a service on the UMC membership vow of presence. Used on World Communion Sunday.