A Sung Communion Liturgy for Memorial Services or All Saints Sunday: Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy, Holy: A Sung Communion for Memorial Services,

or All Saints Sunday

TUNE: NICAEA

Written for the Upper New York Annual Conference 2018 Memorial Communion Service.

  

Holy, holy, holy! God, you are most holy.

We lift up our hearts to you. Together, voices raise:

We, your people gather, at the table gather!

God, in thanksgiving, now we sing your praise.  

You, O God, have formed us, shaped us in your image.

Breathed in us the breath of life and gave to us the earth.

Still, we turn away, God. Still, we wander from you.

God, you are calling. Let us hear your words!

God of priests and prophets, God of all disciples,

God of the faithful who have run their course in faith:  

Saints whose lives inspire us, holy friends who’ve shaped us,

God, for this witness, we give thanks and praise.

Holy, holy, holy, God of light and glory

Blessed is the one who co-mes, carrying your name

Holy, holy, holy, you are most holy.

You sent us Christ to usher in your reign.

Gathered at the table, sharing with disciples

Jesus took and broke the bread as he gave thanks to you.

“Take and eat this bread, friends, symbol of my body.

Share and remember these my words to you.”

When the meal was over, Jesus shared the wine

“Drink from this, the cup life, forgiveness shared with you.”

Jesus, we remember. Jesus, we are grateful.

Gift of redemption, covenant made new.

Holy God, we praise you! All the saints adore you.

All their days they walked your ways and followed Jesus Christ.

In this bless’d communion, we are all your people,

Then, now, and always, to eternal life.

Spoken words of consecration:

Holy, Holy, Holy God, pour out your Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts: the fruit of the vine, the bread of life.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we might be for the world the body of Christ,
redeemed by the love, the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Alternate Sung words of consecration:

Holy, Holy, Holy! God, pour out your Spirit.

Make these gifts become for us the body and the blood.

Make us hands and feet, God. Christ for the world!

We are redeemed, God, made new in your love.

Prayer after Communion:

Sent forth from the table, thankful for the mystery,

thankful for this holy meal in which we share in Christ,

joining with your saints, God, we are Christ’s body.

Sent forth to change the world, giving others life.  

Text: Beth Quick, 2018, Incorporating phrases from “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Reginald Heber.

A Sung Communion for Memorial Services and All Saints Sunday: Holy, Holy, Holy by Rev. Dr. Beth Quick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.