From the Vicarage

Dear friends

Does the taking of Holy Communion every week feel essential for you? Or is it something that you might feel happy to do only about once a month? Or maybe you are someone who does not yet feel ready to take the step of being confirmed and admitted to communion?  Have you asked yourself why you might hold any of these three attitudes?

And, most importantly, can we each, in these three different situations, learn a little something from each other? Because our attitude to the taking of Holy Communion (the bread and wine) can tell us much about how we approach God in worship and what is at the heart of our faith. Maybe you’ve never really analysed this – perhaps you’d rather not – but I’d encourage you to do so. It can help you to grow in faith and to come closer to Christ as you do.

In this month of September,  we are anticipating the First Sunday in October when 10 o’clock Rock will lead our Harvest Festival at the 10am Service, so Holy Communion will NOT be administered at 10am, but will be offered at both our 8am Said Communion Service and at our 6pm Healing Service that day. Will you choose, therefore, to come to one of these instead of, or in addition to, the 10am service in order to take Communion? Or will you be pleased at the thought that this will be a simpler and less exclusive service – one at which ALL who come can feel included – and be happy in a time of praise & hearing the word of God?

Whatever your personal situation, what IS it that brings you to church either on a Sunday morning or at another time of the week? What is the most important aspect of being here in this church building, as opposed to worshipping God (as of course we can) anywhere, at any time of day, in all situations? Is it the sense of being part of a worshipping community? Is your soul uplifted by singing? Do you love to hear God’s word broken open for you to understand and apply to your life? Or do you seek that mystical and poorly understood union with Christ and faithful people down the ages and across all the world, that taking bread and wine together offers?

 Perhaps as you read this you are saying to yourself, well actually I prefer to just go and sit in a quiet church on my own – that’s MY time with God when I can be at peace, and I don’t want to be surrounded by others. Of course there are times when this will be best for you, but it’s good to recall that the tradition of the Christian faith is that the people of God gather together at regular times to worship as one body, as well as having quiet time with God on a one-to-one basis.

Very early in the history of the church it became the tradition to meet together on the Lord’s Day – the day on which he was found to have risen from the grave – to read scripture, to sing songs of praise, and to share a meal.  The meal was gradually simplified into the breaking of bread and sharing of wine which we call Holy Communion, but we must always remember that nowhere else are the Jewish roots of Christian worship so important than in this refining and developing of the memory of Christ’s Last Supper with his friends. The sharing of a meal was essential to Jewish hospitality, and Jesus shared many meals with friends and followers, but it was in this remembering of the Passover Meal he shared before his arrest that we are invited to become one body – one body as the church, one body with Christ, its head.

The more reformed traditions of the Christian church – especially the Free Churches and the Evangelical wings of the Anglican and Methodist churches – place much less emphasis on the sharing of bread and wine. Often a Communion Service will only be held once a month and the words and rituals used are reminders of that Last Meal, rather than invocations of a mysterious union. These churches place most importance upon the word of God – bible reading and the sermon – and you will notice this in the architecture and organisation of the church building. In Lutheran churches on the Continent, for instance, you will often find there are three focal points in the building: the pulpit, the organ and the altar, and this represents the three strands of worship – music and singing, the word of God, and Communion. In other churches, the pulpit will lead, and in more Catholic traditions, the altar will be the primary focal point. ‘Reading’ a church building can be an interesting lesson in how people worship there.

So, what does Holy Communion mean to you? Is it something that excludes you – makes you feel an uncomfortable stranger in the midst of people who all seem to be ‘in the know’? If taking Communion every week is of vital importance to you, have you considered how these uncomfortable strangers feel as they try to share worship with you? Do you know and understand what sharing this bread and wine really means to you? And how can we be more appreciative of the aspects of our worship that seem to feel less important to us (maybe you regard the sermon as an ideal opportunity for a snooze!)?

 On Sunday 26th September, Canon Tony will preach on Holy Communion, giving teaching and sharing insights on some of these questions. Perhaps if this letter has raised some queries for you, you can come along and see if he can sort them out – though of course a really good sermon is likely to leave you with even more questions than you started with!

As we approach the autumn months and anticipate the coming of colder weather, may God richly bless you in all your undertakings. May the love of Jesus touch and heal the aching parts of your life, and shed light on things hidden. And may the Spirit inspire you with joy and a sense of peace. All of these wonderful gifts can be felt and received through any or all of our worship together, or from private meditation and bible reading. I hope you find many different ways of achieving what you need from God.

With much love - Gail