WELCOME, LOGISTICS AND EXPLANATION OF THE EVENING
Welcome to Dinner Church and Prayers around the Cross at Treehouse!
We are thrilled you are here. If it is new to you, not to worry! We will guide you through everything.
Things to know about your time with Treehouse…
You are welcome here and we are blessed by your presence!
Come and go as you need.
Restrooms are all-Gender and located in the hall to the right.
Communion: bread is gluten-free, wine (red) & white grape juice (clear) are available.
WELCOME TO THE TABLE
L: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
All: Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
L: As we gather at this dinner table, we welcome one another to the community we share.
L: We celebrate that each person is of sacred worth.
All: We honor the divine image in every human life.
L: We embrace all people, affirming the gifts of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and faith.
All: We affirm and welcome all people.
L: We are committed to working for racial equality and equality for all.
All: We commit ourselves to justice and equality.
L: No matter where you are on your journey, and regardless of who you are or who you love,
All: You are welcome here.
Opening Song Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, thou Fount of ev’ry blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
fills my heart with joy and love,
teach me ever to adore thee;
may I still thy goodness prove.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be;
let that grace now like a fetter
bind my wand’ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.
Text: Robert Robinson, 1735-1790, alt.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
L: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
All: Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
L: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the fountain of living water,
the rock who gave us birth,
our light and our salvation.
All: Amen.
L: Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God’s mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.
We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning you created us in your image and placed us in a well-watered garden. In the desert, you promised pools of water for the parched, and you gave us water from the rock. When we did not know the way, you sent the Good Shepherd to lead us to still waters. At the cross, you washed us from Jesus’ wounded side, and on this day, you shower us again with the water of life.
All: We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for all water everywhere.
Bathe us in your forgiveness, grace, and love. Satisfy all who thirst, and give us the life only you can give.
L: Let us pray. God of Grace,
All: you make yourself known to all in the breaking of the Bread. You show up in moments and places we don’t always expect. Open our eyes to see you in our lives, our friends, and the world around us. Help us trust your love and know you’re with us every day.
To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ, our living water, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Sharing of the Bread
L: In this meal is found the greatest promise we have of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Here God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
In the night in which he was betrayed, as on that Easter evening in Emmaus,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks,
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
And so tonight, we do the same. We take bread, broken for us, and share it with one another with those sacred words, “The body of Christ given for you.”
All are welcome. Come to the table of new life. Receive the risen Lord.
Bread is passed to your neighbor, saying: “The body of Christ given for you.”
Communion Song – Let Us Break Bread Together
Let us break bread together on our knees;
let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Post-Bread Blessing
Be strengthened this night by the presence of Christ made known to you in the bread and in one another.
Amen.
L: Let us Pray,
God of our salvation, We thank You for this holy meal that restores us, reconciles us to You, and strengthens us for the journey.
Through the body and blood of Christ, make us one in Him and send us into the world as witnesses to Your redeeming love. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
All: Amen.
We’ll spend the first part of our meal in conversation hearing about our week. You are invited to share stories from your highs and lows from the week as well as where you saw Jesus at work in our world.
6:45 PM – The Word
The Lord be with you
and also with you
Luke 24:13-35
13 Now on that same day two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”
19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”
25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.
32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Reflection & Discussion
1. What in this passage stands out to you or makes you wonder?
2. How do you think the disciples were feeling when Jesus approached them?
3. When have you felt confused, sad, defeated? Who showed up for you?
4. Why do you think their eyes were opened whit the breaking of the Bread?
5. What does Hope look like, feel like?
Song: Abide with Me
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,
shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
heav’n’s morning breaks,
and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Text: Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847
Prayers
As we reflect on what we long for and need, you’re invited to share—aloud or in your heart—a word or name after each question, so that together we may hold one another before God in prayer as a community.
Let us Pray…
L: Living Savior, just as you journeyed with the disciples to Emmaus, accompany us on our journey of faith. Gather us at your table, that we recognize you in the breaking of the bread.
+ Where in your life today to you need Jesus to show up?
L: Merciful God,
All: receive our prayer.
L: God of justice, where leaders abuse power, call them to repentance. Where there is corruption, bring integrity; where there is violence, sow peace.
+ Where in our community, country or world do you wish to see a sign of hope justice, and Peace
L: Merciful God,
All: receive our prayer.
L: Healing Savior, your resurrection brings hope to a hurting world. Heal those who are sick. Strengthen the weary, give courage to the despairing, and comfort the dying.
+ Who do you know that needs a touch of care, hope and healing from God?
L: Merciful God,
All: receive our prayer.
L: Eternal Light, we give thanks for the gift of life and breath, for the beauty of creation that surrounds us, for the love of family and friends, and for the quiet mercies that meet us each day. Receive our gratitude not only in words, but in lives that reflect your love. Make us mindful of your blessings, generous in spirit, and eager to share the gifts we have received.
+What do we have to give thanks for and celebrate this evening?
Lord in your Mercy,
All: Receive our Prayers
God of resurrection power, use us and these prayers to proclaim the good news of new life to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our risen Savior.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
L: Now Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit we pray now the prayer Jesus taught us.
All: Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Sharing the Cup
As we gather again at this table, joining in the meal our Lord Jesus shared with His disciples, let us give thanks and praise to God, who brings us salvation and restores us through this holy feast.
L: Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Here again Christ meets us with mercy, nourishes us with grace, and gathers us into one Body through His love.
And so together, we take the cup of wine, sharing those sacred words with one another, “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Wine/Juice is passed to your neighbor, saying: “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Communion Song
Let us drink wine together on our knees;
let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Text: African American spiritual
Post-Wine Prayer/Blessing
L: Now that you have tasted the goodness of God in bread and wine, let us be the body of Christ, blessed and broken for the whole world. Amen.
L: Let us Pray… Holy One,
All: through this meal you have made your home among us and are making all things new. Send us now to speak peace to anxious hearts, to love our enemies, and to bring your healing to the nations. In the name of Jesus, Amen
Blessing & Sending
L: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
All: Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
L: Receive this Blessing
All: May the risen Christ fill your heart with peace, your life with hope,
and your days with the promise that death does not have the final word.
Go in joy, held in God’s love, now and always. Amen.
Song – Just As I Am, without One Plea
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come,
Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871
L: Christ Has Risen Alleluia!
All: He has Risen indeed! Alleluia!
Go In Peace, to Serve the Risen Lord!
All: Thanks be to God and Weeee Will!