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Agape Feast Meal Liturgy

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Agape Feast Meal Liturgy AGAPE FEAST MEAL LITURGY YOU WILL NEED: Bell (or similar sound), bread of any kind, water, a lit candle, and food of any kind you wish to share with those present. If you don’t have a bell, try using sounds from your phone to call you to this brief worship time before a meal. You could also use wind chimes! SOUND OF THE BELL SONG: We are one in the Spirit, we are One in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit, we are One in the Lord; and we pray that all unity may one day be restored. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love. THE BLESSING OF THE MEAL LEADER: How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony! (Psalm 133) Welcome to this meal, in the name of Christ. We come to share in God’s love. PEOPLE: We come to share our food and our lives. LEADER: We come to break bread together, and open ourselves to each other. PEOPLE: We come to express our faith and our thanks. LEADER: May God bless this food and this fellowship. PEOPLE: As we share our food, we give thanks for this abundance, and we remember those who do not have enough. LEADER: May God give food to those who are hungry. PEOPLE: May God give us a hunger for justice, and a determination to serve those who hunger for food. SETTING THE TABLE LEADER: On the table in the midst of this community with whom Christ is present we set symbols to remind us of his promises to us: READER 1: A candle, to remind us of the way, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”. READER 2: Bread, symbol to remind us of God’s love, “I am the bread of life. The bread that I shall give is myself for the life of the world”. READER 3: Water, a symbol that in Christ, we will never thirst, for He will give us “living water” for our lives. All: God, we welcome your presence with us. May the food and companionship we share nourish our bodies, hearts and minds. And may our spirits be refreshed as we live in the light of your presence, with us now and at all times and places. Amen. FOOD IS SERVED. (A time of fellowship, story, conversation, and enjoyment of God’s gifts) PEACE IS SHARED (after the meal and socially distanced when appropriate) LEADER: Our meal is ended, but God’s banquet continues. PEOPLE: Let us take the banquet into the world and never give up until all people are fed. LEADER: May the peace of Christ be upon you, and may you be channels of peace and justice. ALL: Amen CLOSING SONG: We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand. And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love. SOUND OF THE BELL EXPLANATION OF AGAPE FEAST MEAL “Agape” is the New Testament Greek word for “Self-giving love”. It is the kind of love God gives. In his New Commandment, Jesus tells us that we are to love - “Agape” – one another as He has loved us. In our Christian tradition, “Agape” is also the name for informal meals and times of togetherness and mutual sharing, which remind us of all those meals the early Christians shared with each other in togetherness through the Holy Spirit. Since we cannot be together in our church building for things such as our Pie and Ice Cream Social, FEAST, or Coffee Hour, creating a time of fellowship that also includes a holy space around food, can restore some of the ways of being church together today. In ancient times, when smaller groups (house churches) celebrated these “love feasts” in their own home, they taught each other the togetherness in Christ which meal fellowship often brings. Your faith family invites you to some “soul food” by creating a time of agape surrounding a meal. You can also do this liturgy with a few friends outside socially distanced, such as at a barbeque, next to a lake with a picnic meal, or at the family dinner table. Think of this as having a simple picnic, but instead of just fellowship with each other, you are also inviting Christ to your table and acknowledging that it is from God that all these gifts reside. (From several resources including Iona and the Episcopal Church) .
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