Restore Us, O God! We Come to the Cross: A Good Friday Service

A Good Friday service, with communion, that follows the Year A lectionary texts.

This service offers words of confession. Confession is not only a naming of sin or an identification of what needs change. Confession is truth telling, it is openness before God or others. We confess what we believe, we confess what we feel, we confess what we fear, and we confess our need for restoration. We confess not only what is broken within us, and our world, but all that we must lay before God in our path toward wholeness.

Alissa writes of their experience at Hamilton Mennonite Church: "We had a large Christ candle and 8 small votives burning on the table at the front. Communion elements were also there. As each of the first 8 prayers of confession were prayed, one votive was moved from the central table to be around the cross which was off to the side. With the final prayer of confession (for hope), a taper was lit near the cross, so during our communion time, people could use it to light a tea light and offer their own silent prayer of confession & restoration. The short prayers of confession are intended for the whole congregation to read together. There are 4 spaces where individuals could be asked ahead of time to share their own reflections."