The Simple Pastor

Thoughts on faith, life & wonder

Invitations to the table

Over the past few months I’ve been studying and thinking about the role and place of the Lord’s Supper in church life, and although I haven’t finished with that I thought I would post some prayers, scriptures and service elements, all borrowed from Gathering for Worship: Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples

Come to this table, not because you must but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love him more.
Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are his Body.

or

Here is the table of the Lord,
we are gathered to his supper,
a foretaste of things eternal.

Come, when you are fearful, to be made new in love.
Come, when you are doubtful, to be made strong in faith.
Come, when you are regretful, and be made whole.
Come, old and young,
there is room for all

and

We are invited to come together around this table as those who belong to
the household of Christ, brothers and sisters who in our baptized lives live
out the death and resurrection of Jesus. The family of the reborn and the
reconciled, who inhabit a universe of grace.

Photo by professor megan

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9 responses

  1. Sue Rudibaugh avatar
    Sue Rudibaugh

    Thanks for the ideas. I tweaked one of your suggested scripts for use in a small group. Here it is:
    We come to this table not because we must but because we may,
    not because we are strong, but because we are weak.

    We come, not because any goodness of our own gives us a right to come,
    but because we need mercy and help.

    We come, because we love the Lord and would like to love him more.
    We come, because he loved us and gave himself for us.

    We come and meet the risen Christ together, for we are his Body.

    Reply
    1. Phil Whittall avatar
      Phil Whittall

      I think I prefer your version Sue! I like the use of ‘we’ emphasising the body and including the table host in the call. Also removing the ‘little’ is probably a little more encouraging to dear saints who! Thanks for posting

      Reply
    2. Jaime Garcia avatar
      Jaime Garcia

      I liked the elimination of the word little.
      Thank you for sharing.
      God Bless.

      Reply
  2. Anita avatar
    Anita

    I personally love the sentence “we come because we love the lord a little but would like to love Him more.” It humbles me to say that and that word, “little” reminds me of how deep and wide His love is for me and oh, how mine is so little in comparison….Oh Lord, how I want to love you more. I also like the personal call of “you.” For the soul who is struggling about coming to the table, that “you” in each one of those lines is powerful. Regardless, both ways, this is a beautiful prayer and I have been blessed by it for many years in Anglican services.

    Reply
  3. Ronald (Ron) VanAuken avatar
    Ronald (Ron) VanAuken

    The invitation was originally by William Barclay and found in the book “The Lord’s Supper.” (1967)

    Reply
    1. Phil Whittall avatar
      Phil Whittall

      Thanks Ronald, I did not know that. I didn’t see a credit in the book (Baptist Union of GB) but I’ll double check.

      Reply
  4. Lyn Brattan avatar
    Lyn Brattan

    Thank you so much for this. As a trainee Lay Preacher I am presiding over my first Holy Communion this Sunday (and being assessed on it for accreditation). I was not happy with the invitation I had and just found this which says exactly what I feel. Thank you for sharing and for William Barclay for the original.

    Reply
  5. Bob avatar
    Bob

    Thank you. This is very helpful. Personally, I’m unsure about the words “we come to this table not because we must.” Given our Lord’s directive to “do this in remembrance of me” is there not a sense in which we MUST come to the table of remembrance?

    Reply
    1. Phil Whittall avatar
      Phil Whittall

      Hi Bob, thanks for the comment. I hear what you’re saying – there is a discipline to coming to the table as with all other acts of devotion. I ‘think’ the intent is to point out that the table is a gift. You don’t ‘have’ to take it, you ‘get’ to receive it. It’s pointing towards delighting in the discipline rather than as dogged duty. Or at least that’s how I’ve read it.

      Reply

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