Lord’s supper prayers

Luke 22:17-20

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

1 Corinthians 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

1 Corinthians 10:21

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

1 Corinthians 11:20-21

Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

1 Corinthians 11:23

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;

1 Corinthians 11:25

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.”

Matthew 26:26-27

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

Matthew 26:27-28

for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Mark 14:22-23

While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Mark 14:23-24

And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Luke 22:20

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

John 20:26

After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Luke 24:30

When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.

John 6:11

Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

John 11:50

nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”

John 13:1

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Numbers 9:12

‘They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall observe it.

Mark 14:25

“Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:16

for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 11:27-32

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. read more.
But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

1 Corinthians 11:28

But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

bible.knowing-jesus.com

Why is it Called the Lord’s Supper or Communion?

The Lord’s Supper is also called “the Lord’s table” (1 Corinthians 10:21), “communion,” “cup of blessing” (1 Corinthians 10:16), and “breaking of bread” ( Acts 2:42 ). In the early Church it was called also “eucharist,” or giving of thanks (Matthew 26:27), and generally by the Latin Church “mass,” a name derived from the formula of dismission, Ite, missa est, i.e., “Go, it is discharged.”

The account of when Jesus instituted this ordinance of communion is given in Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:24-26. 

What is the Purpose of Communion?

• To commemorate the death of Christ: “This do in remembrance of me.”
• To signify, seal, and apply to believers all the benefits of the new covenant. In this ordinance Christ ratifies his promises to his people, and they on their part solemnly consecrate themselves to him and to his entire service.
• To be a badge of the Christian profession.
• To indicate and to promote the communion of believers with Christ.
• To represent the mutual communion of believers with each other.

The elements used to represent Christ’s body and blood are bread and wine. The kind of bread, whether leavened or unleavened, is not specified. Christ used unleavened bread simply because it was at that moment on the paschal table. Wine, and no other liquid, is to be used (Matthew 26:26-29). This is a permanent ordinance in the Church of Christ, and is to be observed “till he come” again. Adapted from Easton’s Bible Dictionary

The primary biblical text on the nature and meaning of the Lord’s Supper/Table and Communionis 1 Corinthians 11:23-34. Here are ten brief observations on what we see in this text.

1) The Lord’s Supper is primarily (but not exclusively) designed to elicit or to stimulate in our hearts remembrance of the person and work of Jesus: “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25).

2) This remembrance is commanded. Participation at the Lord’s Table is not an option. Prolonged absence from it is spiritually unhealthy and willful neglect of it may be grounds for church discipline.

3) This remembrance entails the use of tangible elements: bread and wine. It isn’t enough simply to say, “Remember!” The elements of bread and wine are given to stir our minds and hearts. The physical action of eating and drinking is designed to remind us that we spiritually “ingest” and depend upon Jesus and the saving benefits of his life, death, and resurrection. Just as food and drink are essential to sustain physical existence, so also the blessings and benefits that come to us through the body and blood of Christ are paramount to our spiritual flourishing.

4) It is a personal remembrance. We are to remember Jesus. The focus isn’t on Abraham or Moses or Isaiah. The focus is no longer on the Jewish Passover or the night of his betrayal or anything else. The focus is Jesus. “Do this in remembrance of ME” (1 Cor. 11:25).

5) In this remembering there is also confession. In partaking of the elements we declare: “Christ gave his body and blood for me. He died for me.” This is one among many reasons why I reject the practice of paedo-communion (the giving of the elements of the Table to infants). If one cannot and does not personally and consciously confess that the bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for sinners, he/she should not, indeed must not, partake of them.

6) In this remembering we also proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes. This, then, is not merely an ordinance that looks to the past. It is an ordinance of hope that points to the future.

7) To partake of the Lord’s Table in an unworthy manner (v. 27) is to take it without regard to its true worth, not yours. To partake unworthily is to come complacently, light-heartedly, giving no thought to that which the elements signify. I. H. Marshall explains:

“In some Christian circles today the fear of partaking unworthily in the Supper leads to believers of otherwise excellent character refraining from coming to the table of the Lord. When this happens, Paul’s warning is being misunderstood. The Lord’s Supper is the place where the forgiveness of sin is proclaimed and offered to all who would receive it. Paul’s warning was not to those who were leading unworthy lives and longed for forgiveness but to those who were making a mockery of that which should have been most sacred and solemn by their behaviour at the meal” (116).

To partake in an “unworthy manner” thus entails at least three things: (a) calloused disregard for others in the body of Christ (see vv. 20-22); (b) an attempt to combine participation at pagan (demonic) feasts with participation at the Lord’s table (see 1 Cor. 10:14-22); and (c) flippant disregard for what the elements represent (vv. 23-26).

8) To be “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (v. 27) is to treat as common or profane something which is sacred. The Lord’s Supper is not just another meal.

9) Hence, we are to “examine ourselves” (v. 28). We are to test our motives and attitudes as we approach the table to be certain we are partaking for the right reasons and with the right understanding of what the elements represent. This is yet another argument against paedo-communion. If one cannot obey this Pauline command one is not prepared or qualified to partake of the elements.

10) Finally, failure to do so may lead to divine discipline (1 Cor. 11:29-34). Such chastisement from the Father is in order that believers may be spared the condemnation that comes to the unbelieving world. Some in Corinth had already suffered the discipline of God (“weak and sick”); some had even died physically (“sleep”). And this was an expression of God’s gracious commitment to preserve his people “so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32b).

Why Do Protestant and Catholic Churches View Communion Differently?

A Communion Prayer

Lord Jesus, I bow before you in humility and ask You to examine my heart today. Show me anything that is not pleasing to You. Reveal any secret pride, any unconfessed sin, any rebellion or unforgiveness that may be hindering my relationship with You. I know that I am Your beloved child, having received You into my heart and life and having accepted Your death as penalty for my sinfulness. The price You paid covered me for all time, and my desire is to live for You.

As I take the bread representing Your life that was broken for me, I remember and celebrate Your faithfulness to me and to all who will receive You. I can’t begin to fathom the agonizing suffering of Your crucifixion. Yet You took that pain for me. You died for me! Thank You, Jesus. Thank You for Your extravagant love and unmerited favor. Thank You that Your death gave me life—abundant life now, and eternal life forever. As You instructed Your disciples, I, too, receive this bread in remembrance of You.

And in the same way, as I take this cup representing Your blood poured out from a splintered cross, I realize that You were the supreme sacrifice for all my sin: past, present, and future. Because of Your blood shed for me, and Your body broken for me, I can be free from the power and penalty of sin. Thank You for Your victory over death. You took the death that I deserved. You took my punishment. Your pain was indeed my gain. And today I remember and celebrate the precious gift of life You gave me through the blood that You spilled.

Each time I take communion, Lord, I want to recommit my life, my heart, my thoughts, my everything to You. Fill me today with Your powerful Spirit. As I leave this place, help me to hold this fresh remembrance and the story that never grows old close to my heart. Help me to share its message faithfully as You give opportunity.
In Your Precious name, amen.
Adapted from A Prayer Before Taking Communion by Rebecca Barlow Jordan

This article originally appeared on SamStorms.com. Used with permission. 

Sam Storms is an Amillennial, Calvinistic, charismatic, credo-baptistic, complementarian, Christian Hedonist who loves his wife of 44 years, his two daughters, his four grandchildren, books, baseball, movies, and all things Oklahoma University. In 2008 Sam became Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sam is on the Board of Directors of both Desiring God and Bethlehem College & Seminary, and also serves as a member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition. Sam is President-Elect of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Image courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: January 31, 2017

This article is part of our larger resource library of terms important to the Christian faith. From heaven and hell, to communion and baptism, we want to provide easy to read and understand articles that answer your questions about theological terms and their meaning. 

What is Blasphemy and Why is it So Deadly?

What is Heresy?The Fruit of the Spirit – What Are They?10 Things to Know About Speaking in TonguesWhat is the Tithe?What is the Sabbath and is it Still Important?Heaven – What is it Like, Where is it?Hell – 10 Things You Should KnowBaptism – What Does it Mean and Why is it Important?Communion – 10 Important Things to RememberThe Trinity – Father, Son, Holy Spirit ExplainedArmor of God – What is it and How to Use itWhat is Agape Love?What is Salvation?The Holy SpiritWhat is Sin?

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Though John Calvin favored weekly communion, many churches in the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition are just starting to renew Lord’s Supper practices. A feature story exploring Lord’s Supper practices in the Reformed and Presbyterian Traditions.

By: Joan Huyser-Honig

Many Christians know the early church celebrated communion every week. After all, the Lord’s Supper is how Jesus asked believers to remember him.

And a fair number of people in the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition know John Calvin passionately advocated for believers to receive weekly communion. He made it a condition before agreeing to leave Strasbourg and return to Geneva.

Yet almost everyone knows that, despite Calvin, most Reformed or Presbyterian churches do not offer a weekly Eucharist.

Congregations talk about observing the Lord’s Supper more often. But they have to agree on the Eucharist’s purpose before they can fully appreciate the richness of what has been handed down from the early church. This was the theme of a recent Calvin Institute of Christian Worship consultation involving pastors from throughout North America and is especially well-stated in Fred R. Anderson’s instructive article”Moving Toward Every Sunday Communion.”

Last Supper or Lord’s Supper?

You have lots of company if you think “communion” and picture the Last Supper, described in Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:12-26; and Luke 22:14-20.

The New Testament, however, offers a richer fare of insights and images than just these texts. Easter meals in Emmaus (Luke 24:30-32) and Jerusalem (Luke 24:36-49), as well as a seaside breakfast (John 21), describe recognizing the risen Christ while sharing common food. 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 describe the ethical commitments involved in sharing the bread and cup, as well as stirring testimony to the way the Lord’s Supper celebrates the unity of body of Christ.  

We most deeply experience the sacrament of communion when we understand its layers of meaning—including that Jesus died for us, that we experience his presence in the Lord’s Supper, and that we look forward to communing with Jesus and all the saints in the new heaven and earth.

In his short treatise on the Lord’s Supper, John Calvin explained his view that the sacrament is not a sacrifice, but rather a meal in which God nourishes our faith. The past-present-future aspects of the Lord’s Supper are conveyed by using the Reformation communion hymn “I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art.” (You may know its later version, “I Greet My Sure Redeemer.”)

Many churches miss this richness by observing the Lord’s Supper only as a reenactment of the Last Supper. Fred R. Anderson, pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, recalls pushing for weekly communion and hearing another pastor respond, “Why in the world would any congregation want to observe a funeral on a weekly basis?”

In an instructive essay on barriers to weekly communion, Anderson says the Last Supper/Lord’s Supper equation persists in part because earlier Bible versions mistranslated Jesus as saying “This is my body broken for you” instead of given for you.

Even when they move to more frequent communion, many churches do this first during Lent. Fritz West, pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ in Fountain City, Wisconsin, suggests Advent and Easter as better seasons for celebrating the Eucharist more often. “This would teach the joy of the meal rather than its penitential aspect,” he says.

It takes too long!

Church architecture, communion distribution methods, interminable liturgies—and turf tussles—all play into objections that weekly communion simply takes too long.

You’ve probably been in Reformed or Presbyterian churches that profess to value faithful preaching of the Word and proper administration of the sacraments. They may prominently display a communion table, often inscribed with words such as “Eat, drink, remember, and believe.”

Yet when you read the worship space, you notice that the communion table sits lower than the pulpit. Densely packed seating and narrow aisles put everyone’s attention upfront on the preacher but leave little room for distributing the elements or letting worshipers come forward to receive or share communion. The architectural message is that Word and sacrament are not equally important.

Anderson describes presiding over Lord’s Suppers where the communion tablecloth looked like a funeral casket pall. Ministers, elders, and clerks solemnly marched to receive, distribute, and return trays of bread cubes, then repeat the process with trays of tiny wine glasses.

“It was all done in complete silence—not so much as a note of organ music, hymn or anthem, much less a recited psalm—for again, I was told this was people’s ‘private time’ with Jesus,” Anderson recalls. “Clearly, Paul’s admonition about discerning the body had been as completely lost on these congregations as it had been in the medieval church.”

In churches that think worship should last no more than an hour, introducing weekly communion means something else will have to be cut to make time for communion. Preachers, music ministers, and other worship leaders aren’t always eager to reduce their own parts or to lengthen service. Those responsible to prepare, distribute, collect, wash, dry, and store communion trays doubt they can commit so much time each weekend.

Weekly and special?

Another reason churches in the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition choose to have communion only quarterly or monthly is they fear the sacrament will lose its special quality.

In centuries past, people could partake of the Lord’s Supper only if they had a communion token or communion card. They earned these by attending preparatory classes (before each  communion observance) or passing catechism tests and having elders approve their conduct and beliefs. For Christians from this background, having communion every week can seem to require an impossible standard of preparation.

Anderson explains that deep piety sometimes prevents worshipers from embracing weekly communion. Before he convinced his congregation to celebrate the Eucharist each week, he helped them evaluate their devotion to long sermons, treasured music, and elaborate Lord’s Supper traditions.

He says this devotion was “keeping them from a weekly experience of the Risen Christ present among them, speaking to them in the reading of scripture and preaching of the sermon, and feeding them with the gift of himself through the elements of bread and wine in order that they could be strengthened in their faith and life.”

Pastors and worshipers in churches that offer more frequent communion soon find that the Bible has more than enough truth to enliven the service of word and table. They vary the liturgy, prayers, and sermons for Lord’s Supper services by exploring different communion themes and observing seasons of church year.

Gradually worshipers internalize ancient Eucharist patterns. The result? People joyfully come together around the table to meet the Lord.

Lord’s Supper Practices: Use what’s already there

Once your church decides to celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often, you might wonder how to do so in a way that embodies how deep, broad, and high Christ’s love is for us.

Your congregation doesn’t have to invent new communion songs, prayers, and visuals, though you certainly may, if that’s how God has gifted you. You don’t have to agonize over how to make the Eucharist meaningful.

All you need to do is use what’s already present in the practices of the age-old, worldwide body of Christ. Simply follow the ancient patterns, make the symbolism bigger, and include children so everyone gets fed.

Follow the ancient pattern

At a Calvin Symposium on Worship, Hughes “Scotty” Oliphant Old spoke about the unfolding of Reformed Eucharistic liturgies from John Calvin till now. “Calvin always says the Lord’s Supper is a communal experience, not just individual,” said Old, dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, South Carolina.

This communal experience flows out of knowing how God’s people prayed long before the Reformation. Old explained that Jesus followed Jewish tradition in blessing God for food, asking God to bless the food, and remembering salvation history.

Early Christians built on this tradition to create a Eucharistic prayer called the Great Thanksgiving. Old lamented, “I’ve seen evangelical Presbyterians that never have a Eucharistic prayer before communion. They plead for grace instead of joyously recounting God’s mighty acts of creation and redemption.”

Over the centuries, churches have focused more or less on certain parts or have varied the order. But the Great Thanksgiving often includes:

• Sursum corda. Christians have used the “Lift up your hearts” call to prayer since the third century.
• Sanctus. Worshipers speak or sing verses that start with “Holy, holy, holy.”
• Benedictus or institution. The presider often uses the words Paul received from the Lord to explain the significance of bread and wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Old says that when he was a Presbyterian pastor, he patterned this prayer on one by John Knox.
• Memorial Acclamation. Everyone responds by singing or saying the mystery of faith: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”
• Epiclesis or prayer of consecration. The presider or presider and worshipers ask the Holy Spirit to transfigure the communion meal so that Jesus is fully present. Here many liturgies have worshipers do the “Great Amen,” Lord’s Prayer, and passing of the peace.
• Breaking and giving. The minister performs the visible word by breaking bread and pouring wine (or lifting trays of already broken and poured elements). The people receive the Lord’s Supper. 
• Postcommunion thanksgiving. Worshipers thank God for the sacrament and ask to be sent out with God’s power and presence so others see God in their lives. This section often includes prayer, liturgical responses, and spoken or sung psalms, such as 103, 113, 116, or 138. “We need to teach our congregations the Eucharistic piety. It isn’t just what the minister does. The whole congregation needs to give thanks by offering their lives to God,” Old said.

Make the symbolism bigger

Water, table, bread, cup, gestures, words. They’re so ordinary, as daily as God’s presence with us, whether or not we notice.

Then again, as Larry Sibley paraphrases John Calvin, we can’t take God full strength. That’s why God comes to us through ordinary things.

“So maybe we ought to make this symbol much stronger than we usually do. A large loaf of real bread, a flagon of wine, and be generous with it, rather than…and flowing water rather than a damp hand on the baby’s head, because that’s how God is present,” Larry Sibley said at a Calvin Symposium on Worship. He is an author and seminary lecturer in practical theology.

“Dispense with the text for the rite, for both the presider and congregation,” suggests Fritz West, pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ in Fountain City, Wisconsin. The presider can memorize all or parts of a communion prayer. She or he can also internalize the basic structure and offer a free prayer.

“The sursum corda, the sanctus/benedictus, the memorial acclamation, and of course the ‘Great Amen’ can all be easily memorized by the congregation. It may be followed by the previously memorized Lord’s Prayer. 

“One is not often asked to memorize set pieces in our culture, but persistence reaps reward—especially with children. Memorized pieces can become benchmarks of the faith. Repeatedly using the Taizé communion song ‘Eat This Bread, Drink This Cup’ became for our children an entrée into a simple, but faithful, theology of communion,” he says.

Learning the words freed him to communicate more with his actions. And West noticed that St. John’s people who’ve memorized the communion liturgy are more likely to see and respond to his gestures. Saying the words of institution by rote lets him extend the bread and cup, by eye contact and posture, so it feels more like an invitation to the congregation.

Include children so everyone gets fed

When St. John’s UCC expanded monthly communion to every Sunday in Lent, they intentionally involved elementary school children. “The idea was to stress the ordinariness of the meal, the holy in the ordinary. It was to bridge the mystery gap, which distances both children and adults from the Lord’s Supper,” Fritz West says. 

They did Lenten communion differently. Instead of being served in pews, worshipers came forward in two lines to take bread from one of two trays West held and wine or juice from elders who stood on either side of him. 

Now, each Sunday in Lent, three children bring in the plate with the bread, the communion pitcher with the wine, and the cup.  West admits that entrusting kids with these church treasures is a challenge. Adults have to hold back from warning kids not to drop anything. “For children, it’s a challenge of faith, trust, and understanding,” West says.

When the elements are on the communion table, West gives a children’s sermon about an aspect of the meal. Kids cluster in the front pews so they can watch the communion ritual.

“After the communion prayer proper concludes, the children are invited to stand around the table as the bread is broken and the wine is poured. Some children take this as a shared responsibility. One five-year-old said, ‘Mom, I helped preach at the table.’ The children are then dismissed to go to their parents, so they can come forward to partake with their families,” West explains.

Learn More

The United Church of Christ has used this communion prayer by Fritz West at annual synods. Read West’s book Scripture and Memory: The Ecumenical Hermeneutic of the Three-Year Lectionaries.

Hughes Oliphant Old’s many books on Reformed worship includeWorship: Reformed According to Scripture, Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Ministers, and a series on reading and preaching scripture in worship throughout history.

Lift Your Hearts on High: Eucharistic Prayer in the Reformed Tradition  by Ronald P. Byars is a brief yet substantive handbook. To God Alone Be Glory: The Story and Sources of the Book of Common Worship by Harold M. Daniels explains how and why the Reformers recovered “only a fragment of Christian liturgy rather than the whole.” Association for Reformed and Liturgical Worship works to complete that recovery and archives Fred R. Anderson’s excellent essay on barriers to weekly communion.

Check out these Calvin Institute of Worship resources for celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Read an excellent essay by Catholic theologian Joyce Ann Zimmerman on paschal mystery.

Read easy-to-understand articles about children at the Lord’s Supper. Listen to or watch portions of N.T. Wright’s “Space, Time and Sacraments” seminar on baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Many North American churches use the Lima Liturgy on World Communion Sunday. It includes possible simplifications. 

In her review of Susan Ashbrook Harvey’s Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and Olfactory Imagination, Lauren Winner explains that ancient Christians found meaning in Eucharistic aromas of bread and wine. “Smells, after all, were a bit like God—you knew they were there, you sensed them, but you couldn’t see or touch them. When you encountered an odor, you knew that odor had a source, even if the source was far away. Scents, then, pointed toward a God people could not see,” Winner writes.

John Chrysostom preached often on what it means to celebrate communion as the starving body of Christ. Find out who’s hungry in your church neighborhood. 

Start a Discussion

Talk about communion:

• In what ways does your church help people understand how the Lord’s Supper helps us look back, live now, and look forward? In what ways does your practice emphasize individual piety or communal identity within your congregation and throughout the whole body of Christ?
• How much does your communion practice have in common with what these stories describe? Do you know the reasons why you do or don’t do certain things in the Eucharist?

• What, if anything, would you like to change about your Lord’s Supper practice, liturgy, frequency, distribution method, or other aspects? What will your congregation need to understand for this change to be accepted?

Share Your Wisdom

What is the best way you’ve found to deepen and increase communion? 

• Did you create a survey to understand what members value about your current practices and why they hold these values? Did you make and discuss a visual about where you match or diverge from communion practices in other traditions or eras?
• If you found a good way to get more ages involved in some aspect of the Lord’s Supper, will you share it with us? What worked best, especially to help the congregation own the communion liturgy as the work of all (not just the minister) or to include children more fully?

Published: July 24, 2007 Resource Type: Feature Story Category: Sacraments (Baptism and Lord’s Supper) Task: Organize a team or ministry, Find or start a discussion, Research a topic Tags: history, lord’s supper, reformed worship

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