Sunday, 6 June & the Celebration of Holy Communion

 

My friends in Christ,

 This Sunday we’re going to try something different. We will be celebrating a service of Holy Communion via YouTube. I know this is different for us, but “we’ve never done it that way before” doesn’t work any longer. In fact, it never worked.

 Personally, I have had to come to terms with this theologically and although it is not the best way to celebrate Holy Communion, it is the way we have available to us.

 With that in mind, if you wish, you can join in the service this Sunday, June 6 at 11:00am on YouTube for the service. I’ll be sending the link with the entire service later in the week. To prepare, I’m asking each person to have some piece of bread (of any sort. Even a cracker would be okay.) and a small drink of either wine or grape juice. After the table prayer, and “the words of institution”, we’ll all pray the Lord’s Prayer and then take our communion. My wife and I intend to be together and will share our bread and cup. Go ahead and eat up whatever bread is left after the service. Then we’ll close as we usually do.

 How is this possible? Look, I don’t know how it happens when we’re all together in the church… and I’m the one saying the words! It isn’t me that makes it happen, but God and God’s grace in Jesus Christ that makes it happen. Who can say it can’t happen if we’re all together even through the Internet? I think it can… and it’s taken me a long time to come to this point in my thinking.

 So I hope you’ll join in on Sunday at 11:00am and we’ll see what God can do with all of us together in that way. We’ll celebrate God’s grace among us in the best way we can at this time.

 Yours in Christ,

Pastor John