An order for Eucharist with prayers for the missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada, June, 2015
Main texts are from the Book of Alternative Services, ©The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, 1985, and Services of the Word, Eucharistic Prayers and Night Prayer Supplemental to the Book of Alternative Services, ©The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada 2001; additional prayers written for this occasion may be adapted unless otherwise indicated in footnotes.
We Gather
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.
And also with you
Let us pray:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open…
Hymn # 578 O healing river
Collect of the day
Weeping God,
whose heart is pierced by the cry of the innocent:
receive into your arms the waste of our violence;
confront the power of fear by the confidence of love;
and help us stand with all creatures who bear the weight
of cruelty and greed;
through Jesus Christ, Rachel’s child. Amen.[1]
We receive and ponder the word of God
Jeremiah 31:15-17
Psalm 22: an interpretation
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me and are so far from my cry for help? O my God, I cry by day and by night, but you don't hear me. I can't sleep. But you are the Holy Creator.
Our ancestors put their trust in you; they trusted, and you kept them safe and guided them. They cried out to you and you helped them; they trusted in you and had no reason to feel any shame. But as for me, I am a worm and barely human anymore, cast aside by the system and despised by society. Those who see me laugh at me cruelly; they move to the other side of the street and say, "You trusted in the ways of the Creator; hah! Let that God rescue you. You already get enough government help." You're the one who took me safely out of my mother's womb, and kept me safe at her breast. My grandparents entrusted me to you when I was born; you were my Creator even before I was born.
Stay close to me… I am in trouble and nobody – Nobody – is here to help me. Night after night, it's like beastly monsters fencing me in, stalking me, following me at night. They sneer and they salivate and they cat call and catch me and violate me and hurt me and threaten me and leave me poured out like water; all my bones have been beaten out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax. My mouth is dried out like clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and it's like you've put me in into a dusty grave. Gangs of men close in on me and abusers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones while they stare and gloat over me. They strip me of my clothes and toss them about among them, my best things going to the highest bidder.
Be not far away, Strong Creator; you are my strength; hasten to help me. Save me from the fist, the knife, the gun, the stranglehold, the spirits of despair and depression that rule our lives. Save my life, my body and my soul from the power of these spirits of evil. I will declare your name to all my relations; in the midst of the whole community I will praise you. Praise the Creator, you that fear God; stand in awe of God, O children from seven generations into seven generations. All peoples. Because you, Great Spirit, do not hate or abuse the poor in their poverty; you don't turn away from them; when they cry to you, you really do hear them.
I will offer you my praise and gratitude before the whole community. The poor shall have a huge feast and be satisfied, and those who seek you shall give praise: "May your heart live for ever!" All four directions of the earth shall remember and turn to you, and all the relations of all the nations shall bow before their Creator who sets the teachings for all the nations. Even the dead who now sleep in the earth will bow down in worship. My soul shall live for God; my descendants shall serve God; they shall be known as the Creator's forever. They shall come and tell the story to the next generations how God has saved us.
The Gospel: Matthew 25:31-41
A period of silence, a homily, or the reading from stories of missing and murdered aboriginal women may follow the Gospel. See
We offer our prayers
Prayers of the People
Confession, Absolution, and the Peace
Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy;
welcoming sinners and inviting them to this table.
let us confess our sins,
confident in God’s forgiveness.
Most merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against you
In thought, word and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart,
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almightly God have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The peace of the Lord be with you…
We Feast at the Table of the Lord
Hymn #292 We cannot measure how You heal
Prayer over the Gifts:
Creator God, accept all we offer you this day:
our prayers for your vulnerable children;
our grief for your beloved Indigenous women
our hope in your healing and reconciling love.
Receive the sacred colours, food,
and medicines we lay before you
and, through them, work the healing of our souls
for the service of your mission.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer S2
The Lord be with youAnd also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise
Eternal God, Source of all being,
we give you thanks and praise
for your faithful love.
You call us into friendship
with you and one another
to be your holy people,
a sign of your presence in the world.
When those we trust betray us,
unfailingly you remain with us.
When we injure others,
you confront us in your love
and call us to the paths of righteousness.
You stand with the weak,
and those, broken and alone,
whom you have always welcomed home,
making the first last, and the last first.
Therefore we raise our voices
with angels and archangels,
forever praising you and saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed are you, O Holy One:
when Hagar was driven into the wilderness
you followed her and gave her hope.
When Joseph was sold into bondage,
you turned malice to your people’s good.
When you called Israel out of slavery,
you brought them through the wilderness
into the promised land.
When your people were taken into exile
you wept with them by the river of Babylon
and carried them home.
Restore us, O God, let your face shine!
At the right time you sent your Anointed One
to stand with the poor,
the outcast, and the oppressed.
Jesus touched lepers, and the sick, and healed them.
He accepted water from a woman of Samaria
and offered her the water of new life.
Christ knew the desolation of the cross
and opened the way for all humanity
into the redemption of your reconciling love.
On the night he was betrayed,
Jesus, at supper with his friends,
took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread,
gave it to them, and said, “Take and eat:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine,
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”
Loving and Holy One,
recalling Christ’s death and resurrection,
we offer you these gifts,
longing for the bread of tomorrow
and the wine of the age to come.
Therefore we proclaim our hope.
Dying you destroyed our death,
rising you restored our life.
Lord Jesus, come in glory.
Pour out your Spirit on these gifts
that through them you may sustain us
in our hunger for your peace.
We hold before you
all whose lives are marked by suffering,
our sisters and brothers.
When we are broken and cast aside,
embrace us in your love.
Restore us, O God, let your face shine!
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours, O Source of all life,
now and for ever.
Amen.
As Jesus taught us, and in the beautiful languages God has given to us, we pray: Our Father…
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We, being many, are one body, for we all share in the one bread.
Prayer after Communion:
Eternal God,
you comfort the afflicted and heal the broken.
You have fed us this day at the table of life and hope.
Teach us to walk the ways of gentleness and peace in your world.
Keep your people from callous indifference
to racism, sexism, and violence
that your children from all four directions may flourish
in the beautiful life that is your intention for creation. Amen.
We are sent forth to care for God’s creation
Doxology : Glory to God…
Hymn #296O Christ, you wept when grief was raw
Blessing and Sending forth
[1] from Stephen Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church. New York: Church Publishing, 2009.