Posted on 05/13/2020 7:31:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I just participated in my first Lord’s Supper via a streaming service. My pastor asked us to have juice and bread ready in our homes. I served my wife, and then I served myself as our pastor prayed and read Scripture regarding the Supper.
It was different, but it was meaningful.
To be clear, I know different churches handle this ordinance differently. Some call it by another name such as Communion. Some have a common cup. Some have different theological understandings of its purpose and meaning.
Many churches in my tradition have very small cups of juice on a plate with cup holders. And many have pieces of bread on a plate for each person to handle, pick up, and eat.
Will these practices change as we return to in-person services? Maybe I should ask it differently. How will these practices change as we return to in-person services?
I don’t have answers, but I do have questions. I hope to hear from some of you in the comments and others of you on social media. I will post the questions at Church Answers as well.
* Will your church return to its previous ways of handling the Lord’s Supper? In other words, the new normal of the post-pandemic era means you will return to serving the Supper with few changes. Do you consider some of the potential responses to be overreactions?
* What hygienic changes will you make in preparing and serving the Lord’s Supper? I can only imagine these responses will be both diverse and helpful. For example, I have already heard that many churches will no longer be handing out bulletins/worship guides for hygienic reasons. The risk of handling seems even greater with the elements of the Lord’s Supper.
* Will your church change the frequency of serving the Lord’s Supper? I am assuming that if the frequency does change, it will be less frequent. Some churches have been serving every week. Some are on a monthly rotation, and others do so every quarter. What are the implications of frequency of serving for the future?
* If you have considered significant changes in serving the Lord’s Supper, how do you plan to communicate that to your congregation? They have already seen a lot of changes during the stay-at-home weeks of the pandemic. How will you prepare your church members for the changes that will come once they can gather in person?
While there are many changes churches will and must implement in the post-pandemic era, the serving of the Lord’s Supper is one of those practices with rich theological and biblical meaning. The way churches handle this matter is not only one of safety and hygiene, it is one of profound theological implications.
My list of questions is by no means exhaustive. I really would like to learn from you regarding your responses to these issues. It is indeed one of many issues; but it is also one of the most important issues.
Let me hear from you.
It must be served in a way that each denomination believes is biblical. So, it’s a matter for each denomination to decide.
They are competing with Democrats and Doctors who have God complexes.
At my Methodist church, we do it ourselves. We watch the service over Youtube and I take communion using bread and Israeli wine-such as Barkan pinot noir.
So, true.
Many ignore how many varieties of religion there are in the USA.
Each of them are free.
There are prepackaged, individual communion plastic communion cups that are double-sealed at the top. Between the sealed layers is a communion wafer. They have been available for many years. Some churches have them available for pickup as you enter the sanctuary, and then sometime during the service people will partake of the communion. The nice thing about this is that nothing has to be touched by anyone other than the person who grabs the cup/wafer.
Our Church (FSSP) is distributing Communion in the traditional manner, on the tongue, communicants kneeling. Only difference is more space between communicants at the altar rail.
“The Age of Corona”
Good grief.
It is denominstional. They sell those wafer/juice all-in-one cups. We had just purchased some as the Covid was ramping up.
Does not work for all churches as some use wine. There is no reason people could not pick up a cup pack on the way in to the sanctuary.
It can be a BYOB thing in the future.
It depends on whether they understand “communion” to be the true Absolution found in Christ’s Sacrifice or if it is just a church pot-luck with a few pretty words and a “jesus” or 2 thrown in.
Oh, and some schmaltzy, repetitive songs made up by the local kiddies in their “garage band”.
Tick season is upon us: it’s Corona and Lyme now.
I attend an Eastern Orthodox church and they have the body and blood in the same cup served with a spoon. The usual practice is for everyone to receive from the same spoon; but now those who receive grab a small paper towel, receive communion, wipe their lips and dispose of the paper towel in a receptacle close by. The priest or deacon alternates using spoons that are in a container of alcohol.
Yep.
Amen
Many apparently don’t realize communion is not about Jesus...It’s about US...It doesn’t even have to be bread and wine/juice...It could be a fork full of spaghetti and a sip of iced tea...Communion is the opportunity for self reflection to cleanse OUR heart and for US to remember Jesus’ death on the Cross and all it stands for...
Just like the Corinthians did after Paul left them, right?
;-)
That’s a really good idea. Had never heard of it before.
I remember when an older lady in our church made her own grape juice, and she’d provide it for Communion Sundays. It was gross and pulpy, and I still won’t eat/drink anything with a grape flavor. I do drink it out of our little cups at Communion, but that’s the only time.
Long before the Corona virus I bristled at the use of a common cup for communion wine. I suppose tongs could be used to hand the communion wafers to the individuals. I have also seen some churches use disposable cups for the communion wine.
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