Community in Communion
I'm interested in exploring the ways that other churches do communion (the Lord's Supper). I say that because the last time our church took communion it sort of went like this:- Passage read when Jesus shared Last Supper with disciples
- Elements prayed over by individuals who would be giving them out
- Organ (via keyboard) and 2 violins played "Amazing Grace"
- Elements passed out and taken individually as people received them
- Elements replaced on stage
- Whole church recited the "Lord's Prayer" together
I like to read passages as if I were there, on the scene and think about what it must have been like. I try to imagine the Last Supper that way. These were people who had gone the distance together (literally and figuratively). I can't imagine how, on earth, there could be any more intimate community than in that room, that evening.
Imagine, to be sitting next to the Master as he handed you a piece of bread and said that it was his body that would be broken for you. And as he, followed by all of the others, lifted their cups in a sense toasting to the blood he would spill for you. That's not something easy to imagine is it? It is something with such deep meaning that you would have to sit for hours just to begin to have a sense of any of it.
If that is the case...if it was something so full of deep meaning, intimate community then maybe we should take a look at how we are currently approaching communion. I'm not going to say that anybody's doing it wrong as only God knows an individual's heart. What I would like to say, though, is that I am interested in trying to add depth, intimacy, community to our observance of communion.
Maybe some of you would like to share your feelings about this. Maybe you have a different take on things, which isn't just ok, it's great! Maybe you have some ideas which we could explore. Maybe you want to share the way your church observes communion.
Seriously, not trying to be critical here. I just want us to take a hard look at the things we do, which we believe are leading us into a deeper relationship with God (individually and as the body of Christ) and determine if they're truly what God intended. If not, change is required.
posted by Michael Shattuck at
5:17 AM
9 Comments:
If I'm asked to serve communion on June 4, I'll make sure I pause when I get to you to make sure you are prepared! Just kidding. I do understand the angle that you are coming from here. It is a great opportunity to not only individually experience fellowship with Christ, but to do that as a community.
As I read your post, I was thinking about the setting of church and the possibilities for bringing in more of the aspects of what it was really like as Jesus served that last meal.
We once had a professor that invited a group of us to his house for an evening to recreate the Last Supper. The table legs were folded up and the tables placed on the floor in a U shape. We reclined around them and ate the specially-prepared meal as the professor talked about what this experience had been like in the Jewish context. As we finished with the crackers and the grape juice, it certainly felt like the community aspect had been put into communion.
This may be hard to duplicate this type of meal experience on a Sunday morning, but if you had a home group fellowship, or something like that meeting in your home, I could see it happening.
Haha! I'll be waiting for you!
That was surely an awesome experience with your professor's group. Is it possible that something like that could be done with a small church (or even larger church)? Could the church consider having a meal together some Sunday morning instead of normal worship service?
Mid-westerns know this as a potluck...Texans as "bringing a covered dish". But it could definitely be done in the spirit of remembering and celebrating what Christ did for us on the cross as well as what he is doing in/through our lives today.
What do you think?
I could see that happening at KNC. You talked about a 5-week study of what church is. Instead of a book, this could be one of the lessons about church and community, and how it comes together in the communion we have with Christ.
Think of Cathleen's farewell party. It had much of the community aspect, and think if it would have continued on to the point of sharing in the bread and wine together and learning something deeper about what it was like to be one of the disciples with Christ. (We left to put the kids to bed that night, so I really don't know how that evening finished up.)
Its like Acts 2:42. I'd make a church like that my church.
Another week could emphasize the importance of the teaching of the Word in the church, and how the Word becomes a part of our daily lives. You could make it relevent to today by having a Da Vinci Code theme. "How can we determine if something like this is completely garbage or truthful?"
That (the Word) is in Acts 2:42 also.
So, maybe it would be intriguing to take a verse like this about church and having interesting, interactive weeks emphasizing the different components, instead of studying a 5-lesson book together.
I'd encourage you to think about this stuff more in the KNC environment than K5N, since you have more opportunities to shape your environment.
Our 6 year old, has English kindergarten and I teach her math. Today as we drove to her Polish school, she tells me in Polish that mathematics is boring. (After that, she had to calculate the walking distance to school!) At the time, we were talking about Grandma coming over and figuring out if she would need a new passport, since she first visited me in Russia in 1995. It was pretty obvious that I need to work on ways to make those lessons interesting and relevent, and not just boring old teaching lessons!
I think sometimes it's easy to miss the trees for the forest. I think my mind likes to take on the bigger picture and sometimes it doesn't think about the smaller, more "impressionable" trees right in front of my face. So, great point in thinking about all of this in the context of KNC (wish we could somehow change that to KFC - Kosciol Fajnego Czlowieka...nah).
See...you can't stay away...KNC is drawing you back...hehe ;)
Since I am an American from nowhere near South Beach, I definitely would be back in if you went with KFC or McKosciol!
Our Lord's Supper has been a real community building exercise in my eyes. Growing up I used to dread it because it seemed so somber. But now I really enjoy it.
We meet as small groups. The auditorium is setup with round tables and you sit with your small group. If people show up that are not part of a small group, we are encouraged to invite them to participate with us and perhaps that becomes an open door for them to start attending.
We usually begin with an extended time of worship with our praise band beyond what we are able to do on weekend services. Then one of the pastors may share a short devotional and we have had people share. For example, after a missions trip last summer several of the team members shared about the experience and they showed a video. Sometimes we'll include a creative element such as a video that helps us focus on Christ. One of the pastors then moves us through the breaking of bread and sharing the cup. They usually keep it varied on how this done. The sacraments are then disbursed througout the auditorium by 8-10 people overseeing stations where the sacraments can be picked up. Each small group table sends a representative to the station and then you partake as a small group.
It is an incredible time of worship and sharing unlike I have ever experienced growing up.
Wonka-
Two questions for you.
(1) Is this on an additional night of the week...or otherwise during a time which is specifically for members of the church?
(2) If not, how are visitors and/or people who aren't Christ followers integrated...just join a small group table and observe what's going on?
Thanks for your comment...that sounds really meaningful.
mbs- answers for your questions...
Yes, Lord's Supper is done on a Wednesday night and during that week we do not have small group meetings at our homes. We share the Lord's Supper together about once a quarter.
As a bit of follow-up...I think we've decided to try a new version, for us, with our small core group with which we're trying to plant a church. We are going to meet on a different night of the week and actually have a supper together, with the bread and wine present (no worries IMB'ers...it will be perfectly within Biblical parameters- haha).
We hope to really create a sense of intimate community within our group...that is community between ourselves and most importantly acknowledging the reason for that particular meeting...to celebrate, praise, remember the reason Jesus came among us and died for us...His unfathomable love and desire for us to have the chance to be restored, to once again Live!!
Post a Comment
<< Home