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Holy Thursday Liturgy
Welcome
Donna: Good evening. Rachel, Lissa, Kim and I welcome you to the Upper Room. On this Holy Thursday evening, we begin the sacred journey of the triduum. Tonight we remember how Jesus taught his followers to live in remembrance of him.
Opening Prayer
Lissa: Holy One, as we begin this holy journey, we sit in your presence as brothers and sisters in faith. Help us to use this sacred meal to grow in our love of you, ourselves and one another. Open our hearts and minds to receive what we need to hear. Let our Love for you and each other flow beyond these walls to bless our community, our world and all living beings.
Opening Song: At This Table by Idina Menzel; video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Reading 1: Excerpt from How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone
Active Hope is not wishful thinking.
Active Hope is not waiting to be rescued by the Lone Ranger or some savior.
Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life on whose behalf we can act.
We belong to this world.
The web of life is calling us forth at this time.
We’ve come a long way and are here to play our part.
With Active Hope we realize that there are adventures in store, strengths to discover, and comrades to link arms with.
Active Hope is a readiness to engage.
Active Hope is a readiness to discover the strengths in ourselves and in others; a readiness to discover the reasons for hope and the occasions for love.
A readiness to discover the size and strength of our heart, our quickness of mind, our steadiness of purpose, our own authority, our love for life, the liveliness of our curiosity, the unsuspected deep well of patience and diligence, the keenness of our senses, and our capacity to lead.
None of these can be discovered in an armchair or without risk.
The Great Turning is a story of Active Hope. To play our best part, we need to counter the voices that say we’re not up to the task, that we’re not good enough, strong enough, or wise enough to make any difference. If we fear that the mess we’re in is too awful to look at or that we won’t be able to cope with the distress it brings up, we need to find a way through that fear.
These are the inspired words of Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Gospel Acclamation: Stay With Me (Taize)
https://youtu.be/-OHPoVhwgnM?si=BjzZl-jqfR9kFyzM
Gospel: A reading from the anonymous author of the Gospel of John (adapted by Dennis)
It was before the Feast of Passover, and Jesus realized that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to Abba God. He had always loved his own in this world, but now he showed how perfect this love was.
So, during supper, Jesus—knowing that God had put all things into his own hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God— rose from the table, took off his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and dry them with the towel that was around his waist.
When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Rabbi, you’re not going to wash my feet, are you?” Jesus answered, “You don’t realize what I am doing right now, but later you’ll understand.” Peter replied, “You’ll never wash my feet!” Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Then, Rabbi, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”
After washing their feet, Jesus put his clothes back on and returned to the table. He said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me “Teacher,” and “Master”—and rightly, for so I am. If I, then—your Teacher and Master—have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
These are the inspired words of the anonymous author called John and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Shared Homily:
On this Holy Thursday we will consider how Jesus uses a ritual meal, foot washing and the ordinary elements of bread and wine to teach his disciples important lessons. The political and religious leaders were so threatened by Jesus’s message that they were determined to end his ministry. Today in 2026 we find we are in dire need of the lessons he taught them that night. Jesus was teaching them what to do and how to love each other even as danger was pressing in from all sides.
Jesus uses the ritual of a Seder Meal to encourage his friends to continue gathering around the table as a way to strengthen the community. Simple actions of sharing meals in the face of uncertainty and fear becomes a place of solidarity and comfort. At the time it may have felt like an ordinary moment, but only in retrospect did those who were present realize the significance of that meal. And this is why I believe Jesus chose the elements of bread and wine. Because they were very common, ordinary, everyday things that would have been present on the table at every meal. He was not indicating that these are special, unique elements to be guarded, but that we should be remembering him in the simple, common, ordinary, everyday things and moments. The sacred is always right in front of us in the ordinary.
The gospel of John is written in a way that pictures Jesus as all-knowing. Whether we believe that Jesus knew the future or not, the description of an all-knowing Jesus is used by the writer to emphasize the surprise found in this passage. This all-knowing great leader takes the role of the lowest household servant when he washes the feet of his disciples! Jesus establishes a discipleship of equals.
I believe Jesus’s teaching about humility holds a valuable key to living well in difficult as well as ordinary times. A definition of humility reads: the accurate assessment of one’s abilities and limitations. Jesus was grounded in knowing who he was. He came from God and was going back to God. Armed with this knowledge he performed a simple and loving action. When we choose to act from a humble stance, we can identify, and share our gifts with courage and clarity.
The lesson of humility that Jesus taught is vital for cultivating Active Hope described in the first reading. The passage says Active Hope is readiness to discover the strengths in ourselves and others and is a readiness to discover the reasons for hope and occasions for love. I believe once we have a solid love-based reason for doing something that takes courage the difficulty in taking action, lessens. For example, when we are in touch with our reasons for joining a peaceful protest the weight of risks and fear about the action seems to diminish.
Jesus models doing what we can when we can for the common good. He told us to do these things in the face of uncertainty and fear because it is simply a way to love God and each other and brings hope to situations that seem hopeless. May we bring our strongest and highest selves into being today with Active Hope. And when we experience fear or self-doubt may we Face it Down from a stance of humility.
Hand Washing Ritual
Kim: The word Namaste is defined as: the divine in me bows to the divine in you. And is usually accompanied with a bow of respect to each other. To me, the ability to see the divine in others comes from a stance of humility. Isn’t that what Jesus was modeling when he washed the feet of his friends? We will now wash each other’s hands as we commemorate the foot washing that Jesus did. May this help us recognize and honor the divine in each other.
Please proceed to one of the two stations where your hands will be washed by the Presiders.
Music during ritual:
Namaste
https://youtu.be/7olTHC5rscE?si=Q1k5Nfn3b-irC1Ks
Donna: Let us continue with our Statement of Faith
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Prayers of the Community
Rachel: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. Please state your intentions beginning with “I bring to the table…”
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Lissa: Let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
All: Source of Love and Light, we come together in unity of heart, compassion, and shared purpose with people everywhere—those here and those we remember.
With all living beings across this Earth, we open our hearts to connection, understanding, and care. In your loving presence, we are freed from division, fear, conflict, pride, and injustice.
We are made whole through love and compassion. With gratitude, we offer ourselves to the work of healing, growing, and supporting one another. Together, we speak with one voice, honoring the beauty of life and our shared responsibility to nurture it, with these words of thanks and praise:
Holy, Holy: (Start at 1:48) Jonathan Livingston Seagull Neal Diamond
https://youtu.be/sHC-85nLbkA?si=0-VLiiSFAQ4pwfld
All: We thank you, Holy One, for the incarnation of Jesus, a radical balance of human and divine who points our way and who strives with us in our time of need. We yearn to live with compassion, as Jesus did, one with you and your Spirit, in peace and justice with all. May our desire to a part of the Body of Christ join us to all living things. We seek to heal the differences that isolate us across the globe so that we may live and breathe in solidarity with all your people, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender or class. May we have the imaginative sympathy and love of Your Spirit to go beyond the confines of time and space into the Oneness of forever and ever where Love abides.
Rachel: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: Together, we call on Your Spirit, present in these gifts-bread that satisfies our hunger and wine that quenches our thirst–to make us more deeply One, living in the fullness of holy compassion and Sophia wisdom. Anticipating the likelihood of betrayal, arrest and pain, Jesus wanted more than anything to be with his friends at a Seder, to share the meal, exchange stories and create fond memories. To strengthen the bonds of friendship that evening, Jesus washed the feet of his friends in an act of love and humility.
All: Back at the table, he took the Passover Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying: Take and eat, the bread of life for all who hunger for peace and justice. (pause)
Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: Take and drink. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. (pause)
All: What we have heard with our ears we will live with our lives. As we share Communion, we become Communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s Challenge.
Please receive the bread with the words: “We are family and you are important”
Communion Song: In Remembrance of Me
https://youtu.be/nV_kFlsKrQU?si=2Hz_xHZRG83tLtMB
Post-Communion Prayer:
All: Knowing that Jesus spent his time with the lowly and hurting, the needy and shunned, we seek to be alert to how we can bring the love and unity of the Body of Christ to wherever and with whomever is in need. We ask for the grace to see with the eyes of Jesus, touch with the hands of Jesus and heal with the heart of Jesus. Amen.
Prayer of Jesus
Lissa: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
All: O Holy One, who is within, around and among us,
we celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom come. Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us,
Each day you give us all we need;
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
(Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Rachel: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
All: May these hands that have been washed be sanctified for service to others. With them may you give a gentle embrace spreading love, may you take the hand of another offering support and courage, may you share from what you have to help nourish and sustain.
May you be strengthened in your commitment to live with humility and love. That the example Jesus gave of servant leadership will be evident in your life.
May God bless you with the courage and compassion to choose active hope when all feels dark and uncertain.
May your eyes be continually open to the sacred presence of the Holy One in the ordinariness of daily life.
Closing Song: Face It Down by Rachel Kohrs
https://youtu.be/fdX8AM03ViQ?si=xCd7e6_AkuIohPNx
