10 PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
| Lord, we praise you and thank you for your creativity in the world, and your covenant with us. We thank you, generous Jesus, that as a baby you came into this world; that you lived and laughed. That in all humanity you surprised and shocked, worked and wept, suffered and sacrificed. We thank you, startling Jesus, that for us you rose from death and ascended to heaven. |
| That in your grace and mercy you poured out your Holy Spirit upon us and pray for us always, and that you will come again in glory and power. |
| So now as we remember and recreate what you did in an upstairs room, we ask you to send down your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine that they may become for us your body; health, wholeness and holiness to the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let us say together the prayer that Jesus taught us: |
11 LORD’S PRAYER
| Our Father . . . |
12 BREAKING OF BREAD
| (Taking and breaking the bread) Around a table, among friends, Jesus took bread. As he broke it, he said: ‘This is my body, it is broken for you.’ (Taking the cup of wine) And later, he took the cup of wine and said: ‘This is the new relationship with God, your birth through my death. Take this, all of you, to remember me. This is your Lord, in bread and in wine For you. ‘Take and eat. (Communion is shared) |
13 THE PEACE
| The peace of the Father of joy The peace of the Christ of hope The peace of the Spirit of grace Let’s share it now. The Lord’s peace be with you all. |
14 CONCLUDING PRAYER
| Leader: | Here we have tasted the things of this world. Here we have touched the things of the next. Here we have seen and heard of the great mystery of our salvation. Here we have eaten of one loaf, and drunk of one cup, in that communion becoming one with you, with our brothers and sisters near and far and with that great cloud of witnesses which surrounds us. May this precious gift which we have received be shared with all whose lives we touch, that our love of you and your love in us may shine for the salvation of the world. Amen. |
| ALL: | AMEN. |
15 ACTION
| Pass round a basket of white ribbons as a symbol of our cleansing. Each takes one and ties it round his/her neighbour’s wrist as a symbol of our dependence on one another. Or: anoint one another with oil in the sign of the cross. |
16 PRAISE
17 CLOSING
| ALL: | For darkness you give light For despair you give hope For confusion you give peace For sorrow you give joy For ourselves you give yourself. Let us go In peace, in love, in joy And in the company of our Saviour. Amen. |
The Ironing-Board Communion
REV. ELEANOR MACALISTER
‘Climb every mountain’ was the title of my final address to the congregation of Ellon Parish Church on 29 October 2006. Both worship and Communion were celebrated from an ironing board – and remarkably this ordinary household task took on something of a priestly significance. It is the story of one woman’s journey in ministry. I am fond of cooking – and so, in the manner of a cookery book, it’s essential to gather together your ingredients and follow the instructions. So . . . read on.
READINGS: Ephesians 5:6–10 and Mark 8:31–8
Ingredients
One ironing board, one iron, one extension cable, two linen baskets, one filled with laundry needing ironed. The other holds a Communion cup filled with wine and a Communion plate holding a loaf, both items covered by a white tablecloth. From a distance, this just looks like another basket of laundry.
Method
Have the ironing board, iron and two linen baskets set up centrally on the chancel area prior to worship beginning. Ensure iron is plugged in. The linen baskets should be within easy reach. Conduct worship from the ironing board. When it is time for the address, ‘Climb Every Mountain’, switch on iron, and iron the laundry from time to time as one is talking. Cease ironing each time an extract is read.
‘Climb Every Mountain’
Seeing me standing here ironing this morning is probably causing some of you to say to yourselves: ‘Eleanor has finally cracked!’ But, in fairness to myself, I think that many of you know that it’s been pretty hectic in the manse recently. We’ve been gutting for what seems like months. There’s a pile of stuff in the garage as high