In a time when the world and culture around us is pulling further apart by the day, what better witness can we share than to celebrate Holy Communion with hundreds of millions of other Christians around the world this Sunday?
We last celebrated Communion as a gathered in-person church 7 months ago as the reality of COVID-19 was just interrupting our plans. We celebrated remotely twice in the Spring, but since resuming in-person worship for some while others worship from home, we have not. This was due to two main considerations: first, the face-touching and mask-lowering required to partake of the Communion elements, and second, the difficulty of celebrating a Sacrament with a geographically divided congregation.
To the first point, we will maintain greater than 6 feet of distance between each group of worshippers this Sunday. As an additional precaution, there will not be a common loaf or common cup shared. In fact, and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters worshipping with us from home in light of the second point, we will each bring our own elements*.
This raises a fun question: what is the right sort of thing to bring for Communion? Some people can be very, very, VERY particular about what is and is not appropriate for the Sacrament. Officially, our denomination’s guidance is that the bread should recognizably look, taste like, and feel like bread, preferably from the sort of common loaf we can’t responsibly use right now. That said, local customs vary, and almost anything can be presented as a “bread.” I’ve participated in youth mission trips where donuts and cookies were what was available, for example, and led to meaningful sharing. And so, just as we bring different experiences and stories into this community, you are free to bring whatever “bread” is meaningful or available to you.
How about the cup? United Methodists in connection with our historical witness to Temperance have long used unfermented grape juice as our preferred “wine.” Here too, however, there is flexibility available. As Jesus turned the water into wine, the Presence of the Lord can be experienced through ordinary water, as well. The Holy Mystery can be conveyed through any medium, though water, grape juice, or wine are still most in keeping with what was on the table at the time Jesus spoke the Words of Institution at the Last Supper.
Finally, whatever you bring, do consider that you may not want to bring a ton of it. All consecrated Communion elements are required to be reverently consumed and are not to go down the drain or in the trash. In a pinch you can always make the birds and squirrels happy, but it’s good to consider what you can reasonably partake of during the celebration itself. A single cracker and small amount of juice or water should suffice.
I will stand at the Table, perform the liturgy, and we will break bread together, both those who are present in the Sanctuary and those gathered at home. If you are participating from home, please share your home altar in the Facebook comments. We will then each receive the Sacrament as a living means of grace.
In short:
It’s World Communion Sunday.
BYO bread and cup.
Whether home or here, experience the connection with your church family and believers throughout the world. There is always more to connect us than there is to divide. Hold on to our unity and our hope.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
*If anyone forgets to bring something and would still like to participate, we will have wafers available.
Announcements
Continuing a Courageous Conversation
For those who have participated in our exploration of Jim Wallis’s book America’s Original Sin so far, and also those interesting in joining in now, we will continue our conversation on the ways we can together join in the work of turning away from deadly, soul-destroying sin of racism. Our next Conversation is based around Chapter 6 of the Book where Wallis explores what a multicultural church can be. This is where our Conversations turn toward practice: what does it look like for Flemington UMC to be an intentionally multicultural congregation? We will meet in-person after worship this Sunday, October 4th, and again over Zoom on Tuesday, October 13th. Please reply to this message or contact Lynn Becker directly for a link to that Zoom conversation.
Annual Charge Conference Completed
Members of the current Church Council gathered with the District Superintendent over Zoom last night to receive our annual reports as well as celebrate the ministry we’ve done this past year. We have also voted to welcome new officers onto the Council for next year:
Chair: Paul Roberts
Outreach and Witness: Emily Kelchen
Recording Secretary: Karen Lampert
With our move to a new Leadership Council structure for the coming years, please hold these people in prayer. We also give thanks for the ministry performed by outgoing Church Council chair Grace Espeut who served in this role a long, long time and brought calm, compassion, and, yes, grace to every meeting. We will take time in the next few weeks to give thanks for other members of the current council who are moving into different ministries and also to share ways that everyone who receives this newsletter can be a part of spreading the life and hope of Jesus to the people in your life.
Resuming Confirmation Class and Christian Education Update
Families of current Confirmation students received a message earlier this morning with a planned schedule of classes to bring us to Confirmation Sunday on November 22. Superintendent Judy Gordley has shared resources, crafts, and curriculum for our younger disciples as we discern the best way forward with Christian education in this time.
New Study For Fall and Advent
Richard Rohr’s “Falling Upward” is a reflection on the surprising way our deepening faith and expanded religious practice begin to take place later in life in many cases. While we often focus so much attention on building a perfect life with healthy relationships and productive work in our 20s and 30s, its only in our 40s and 50s and beyond that many seem prepared to ask the big questions of this life we thought we had figured out. If you’d like to participate, please let Pastor Ben know. This is a slightly different small group opportunity for a slightly different Fall and Advent.
Worship with Flemington UMC on Facebook
Each Sunday at 10:30am, reach for your phone, tablet, computer, or other internet-connected device for a time of music, prayer, scripture, and preaching. Watching live gives the opportunity to comment in real-time with prayer requests, updates on your life, and more, but if you view the service later you can still comment and share prayer requests and experiences from your life with your church.
If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can simply visit the church’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FlemingtonUnitedMethodist/
The videos are all accessible there without the need to create an account or login. If you have technical questions, please reach out.
Sad Saints and Sour Religion