A Great Thanksgiving For Easter
A Great Thanksgiving is also known as a Eucharistic Prayer or Prayer for Holy Communion. It is used to consecrate the bread and the wine/grape juice.

This Great Thanksgiving incorporates texts from Christ the Lord is Risen Today by Charles Wesley as congregational responses. The text are used in an order which best fits the Eucharistic Prayer. The responses may be sung or spoken. If spoken, consider speaking only one Alleluia at the end of each stanza rather than at the end of each phrase.

ALL SINGING:
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

ONE:
Holy One, Eternal and Blessed

ALL:
We lift up our hearts to You.

ONE:
Your love overflows, calling the wonder of creation into being
Filling the world with beauty and goodness

ALL:
Receive our thanks and praise

ONE:
We join the company of heaven
and Your faithful in every time and place
in celebrating Your victory over sin and death

ALL SINGING OR SPEAKING:
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

ONE:
Glory to You, God of grace and majesty
and glory to Your Son, Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Savior of the world

On the third day, You raised Jesus from the dead.
Death could not destroy him!
The grave could not enslave him!

ALL SINGING OR SPEAKING:
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

ONE:
The world despised and rejected You.
You responded with grace, humility and welcome.
The proud questioned Your power, devised Your death.
You responded with peace, forgiveness and new life.

ALL SPEAKING:
Forgive us, merciful Jesus
Our arrogance
Our selfishness
Our violence
Make us like You

ONE:
On the night in which he gave himself up for us,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks to You, broke the bread,
gave it to those gathered around the table, and said:
“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

When the supper was over, he took the cup,
gave thanks to You, gave it to those gathered and said:
“Drink from this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

ALL SPEAKING:
We remember You
We need You
We claim Your resurrection power:
Dying, You destroyed our death
Rising, You restored our life.
Lord Jesus, come in glory.

ONE:
Come Lord Jesus
And come Holy Spirit,
Abide with us and in us
And on these gifts of bread and wine
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ
That we may be, now and forever, Your Easter people,
Whole, Holy, Alive
One with You and one with each other
Together fulfilling Your saving work

ALL: singing or speaking
King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

*************
A Great Thanksgiving For Easter © 2015 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia.
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please contact Lisa for information and permission to publish this work in any form.