Communion

In the Gospels we read an account of a meal that Jesus had with his disciples in an upper room just before he was arrested and crucified, you can read about this meal in the Gospels (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-38). Paul also writes about this meal one of his letters (Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34), and there is evidence that Christians throughout the ages have used this simple meal of bread and wine to remember Jesus’ death for them. Communion is a profound and meaningful meal which we believe should be celebrated very regularly. We try to organise ourselves so that communion is celebrated in one form or another at least once a week.

For the most part that means we celebrate Communion as part of our Sunday morning meeting, however from time to time when we anticipate there might be visitors who would feel awkward or excluded, we omit this part of our gathering and try to celebrate it at some other point in the week.

Communion reminds us of…

1. Jesus’ death on the cross.
2. God’s promise of forgiveness of our sins.
3. The presence of Jesus amongst us.
4. The unity of all believers

We operate what is known as an “open table” when we break bread together, this means that anyone who is a Christian (irrespective of denomination or membership) may share in communion with us.

We leave the decision about whether children participate to the discretion of their parents. However, we ask that parents make sure that their child understands the significance of this practice before allowing them to share in the communion, and that they give it to the children themselves.