The God of Easter be with you.
And also with you.
People of Easter, lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to the Lord.
People of Easter, give thanks to the One who raises us to new life.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
God of Easter, we give you thanks for life:
Life born in waters of creation,
Life drawn from the dust of the earth,
Life molded from the clay of your wheel,
Life stitched in the womb of a woman.
Today we remember that death does have the final word,
For yours is life beyond our imagination.
God of Easter, we give you thanks for new life:
New life, that speaks truth in love to the old,
New life that overflows with grace,
New life that teaches us how to live,
New life that beckons us to respond in faithfulness.
Today we remember that sin does not have the final word,
For yours is grace beyond our imagination.
God of Easter, we give you thanks for life:
For the lives of the faithful who have come before us,
Prophets who pointed to your love and justice,
Saints who taught us to how to be broken,
Christ who showed us how to be whole.
Today we remember that resurrection has the final word,
For ours is a story of an empty tomb.
God of life,
Breathe life into us again today,
and breathe your Holy Spirit into these gifts of bread and wine,
that they may be for us the body and blood of the Risen Christ.
As we join in this joyful feast with the faithful across all time and place,
Join us also with you and with one another,
that we may be the body of Christ in the world.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
All glory is yours, now and forever more.
Amen.
And also with you. 