Communion

“ … the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes."

1 Corinthians 11.23-26 (NRSV)

Most of us recall meaningful moments shared with family or friends around a dinner table – “connecting,” mysteriously, through the common gesture of sharing a meal or a cup of coffee. A similar, mysterious, Spirit-born reality occurs across the globe as Christ-followers come together at the Lord’s Table and receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

In honoring Jesus’ command to “eat this bread and drink this cup,” Community Presbyterian celebrates the Lord’s Supper during worship on the first Sunday of each month and during the Thursday night worship service immediately preceding the first Sunday. We also serve communion, conducted by a Minister of Word and Sacrament, at the Maundy Thursday service during Holy Week, at the Easter sunrise service, at the Traveler’s Service preceding Christmas Eve, at the noon and 11 pm Christmas Eve services, and – as approved by the governing session of the church – at special services, including retreats at which the Word is proclaimed.

We use bread and unfermented wine (grape juice) for communion. Everyone who has been baptized and professes Jesus Christ as Lord is welcome to the Table – regardless of age, race, gender, culture, language, denomination, social class, physical condition, or any barrier created by human injustice.

Ordinarily we receive communion by the ancient method of intinction: Those who are able, come forward and take a piece of bread, dip it in the chalice, eat it and return to their seats by the outside aisle. Those who are unable to come forward will be served in their seats. We also serve communion by passed plates several times each year.

The New Testament describes the meal as a participation in Christ and with one another in the expectation of the Kingdom and as a foretaste of the messianic banquet …

At the Lord’s Table, the Church is

a. renewed and empowered by the memory of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and promise to return;

b. sustained by Christ’s pledge of undying love and continuing presence with God’s people;

c. sealed in God’s covenant of grace through partaking of Christ’s self-offering …

Around the Table of the Lord, God’s people are in communion with Christ and with all who belong to Christ. Reconciliation with Christ compels reconciliation with one another …

In this meal the Church celebrates the joyful feast of the people of God, and anticipates the great banquet and marriage supper of the Lamb. Brought by the Holy Spirit into Christ’s presence, the Church eagerly expects and prays for the day when Christ shall come in glory and God be all in all. Nourished by this hope, the Church rises from the Table and is sent by the power of the Holy Spirit to participate in God’s mission to the world, to proclaim the gospel, to exercise compassion, to work for justice and peace until Christ’s Kingdom shall come at last …

[A]ccess to the Table is not a right conferred upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love. In preparing to receive Christ in this Sacrament, the believer is to confess sin and brokenness, to seek reconciliation with God and neighbor, and to trust in Jesus Christ for cleansing and renewal. Even one who doubts or whose trust is wavering may come to the Table in order to be assured of God’s love and grace in Christ Jesus.

-- Excerpted from the Directory of Worship, W-2.400, in the Book of Order, Book II of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)