Unitarian Universalist Eucharist

by Rev. Chuck Freeman (adapted & expanded by Rev. Sam Trumbore)

The Meditation

Minister: Come, Father of the poor, Mother of the brokenhearted; Come, Author of the powerful, Composer of celebration; Come Voice of the silence, Come Generous Spirit. By the glory of your presence around us, by the glory of your presence within us, by the wind of your spirit in this place, inspire and renew us, so that we may approach this communion with gladness.

People: We allow ourselves to be still in body and mind, letting go of our thoughts, desires, and concerns of tomorrow or yesterday, that we may be open to the wonders of this present moment.

Hymn #389 "Gathered Here"

The Confession of Shortcomings

Minister: We come together in need of renewal. We have fallen short in our service to each other. We have fallen short in our service to our bodies, hearts and minds. We have fallen short in our service to our beliefs, values, principles and ideals. We have fallen short responding to the blessings of this tremendous gift of life.

Let us now individually acknowledge those shortcomings, as each person is willing and able, to release the burdens on our hearts, and feel the love and forgiveness that comes with communal confession and remorse.

All: (Each person will now have an opportunity to confess any shortcoming and express their remorse)

Minister: May these confessions of our shortcomings cleanse our hearts of the separations we feel from all that we deem holy. May they be forgiven as we restore the bonds between us.

The Confession of Faith

Minister: We are not alone. We all draw on sources of strength and guidance beyond us. These sources sustain us when we confront our shortcomings and wish to go beyond them. Let us each now individually speak these sources into our circle as each person is willing and able.

All: (Each person will now have an opportunity to share a source of faith and express their gratitude)

Minister: Restored, reunited and renewed through our confession to each other of shortcomings and faith, we are now prepared to celebrate holy communion together.

Hymn #406 “Let us Break Bread Together”

The Preparation

Minister: Blessed be this day, and all it shall bring.

Women: Blessed be this place.

Minister: Blessed be the Source of Life.

Men: Blessed be our Mother Earth.

Minister: Blessed be the Cosmic Christ.

Women: Blessed be all animated beings.

Minister: Blessed be our living and dying.

Men: Blessed be our awakening.

Minister: Creator Spirit, Beacon of Light, Wellspring of Love,

All: Essence of all being, Fullness of all truth, Hope of all ages, Eternal One, revealed in many forms, worthy of our awe; blow as a fresh breeze to restore us, body and soul.

Minister: Open us to your divine truth.

People: That we may embrace the word of life.

Minister: Temper mystery with reason, and reason with mystery.

People: Anoint our doubt with an appreciation of all that is.

Minister: As we strive for peace, justice, and harmony in the world.

People: Fill me with compassion.

Minister: May we all know the jewel of compassion.

People: We share a common earth. May we reverence the earth, and all that is in it.

Minister: Let us love the fullness of creation with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

People: And our neighbors as ourselves.

Minister: Seek the sacred purpose in all things; in the morning, at eventide, in the ebb and flow of existence.

People: Inasmuch as we live in this fashion, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.

Doxology: From all that dwell below the skies

Let songs of hope and faith arise;

Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung

Through every land, by every tongue.

The Blessing of the Bread and Wine

Minister: We graciously acknowledge the commonality and distinctions we embody. As multitudes of grain are gathered to make bread, and much fruit is mixed to ferment wine, so we who are many, coming from diverse places and viewpoints, recognize our oneness in this ritual meal.

People: Blessed are you, Spirit of Goodness. Through you we have this bread and wine to sustain us, which the earth has given and our human hands have made. May they become for us spiritual food and drink, expressing our joys and tears, our visions and dreams.

Minister: From the days when we began to walk on two feet and bore the name "human", our kind has sought to appease the forces of nature and offer ceremonial gratitude.
The original devotees of the Goddess designed rituals of thanksgiving to maintain the fertility of the earth in bearing fruit, and to assuage the spirit of the animals which gave their lives for sustenance.
Worshippers of Yahweh ate a memorial meal to recall the mighty acts of their God in miraculous events of deliverance through history: the blood of the Passover Lamb which protected the first born of the Israelites; being led out of bondage from Egypt, and the parting of the Red Sea, to complete their escape from their Egyptian captors.
In this lineage, disciples of Christ created a Eucharist symbolic of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection dedicated to their redemption from sin. They believed the bread is emblematic of His broken body, and the wine represents His shed blood. The Lord's Supper is eaten in remembrance of, and in thanksgiving for, Jesus' sacrifice.
Today, we revere the universal themes in these traditions that serve as a foundation for our observance of this communion: survival, fear of the unknown, bargaining, freedom from tyranny, sacrifice, appreciation, helplessness, the existential search for meaning, love, our dependence on the earth, the need for nurture, and the marvelous cycle of birth, death, and life renewed.

People: Source of all holiness, Abiding Presence of love, Fountain of all wisdom, take the dry bread of mundane subsistence and transform it into a splendid banquet. Take the crushed grapes of despair and turn them into the wine of feasting. Bring order out of our chaos, rays of light into our dark season, and soundness to our broken places.

Minister: Welcome the One Taste that quickens the senses, these are the gifts of time and eternity. May the timeless nature of their deep message touch, cleanse, refine, and enliven you.

Hymn #402 “From You I Receive”

Receiving the Eucharist

All: (Each person offers the bread to the person next to them saying) “This is the bread of life. Take and eat it in remembrance of all that is holy.”

All: (Each person offers the wine to the person next to them saying) “This is the elixir of life. Drink it in remembrance of our oneness with the divine.”

Closing Words

Minister: In thankfulness, let us offer praise for the provisions of the Universe we have enjoyed. May we, with all creation, dedicate ourselves with integrity to the completion of our calling. May we enter the fellowship that is both matter and spirit, human and divine, time bound and everlasting.

All: Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the divine be with you till we meet again. Amen.

Hymn #385 "Gloria"