Over the years at the Presbyterian Church of Novato, you have shared the Table of the Lord in so many different ways. From what are called intinction services, where you come forward or have servers come to you so you can dip elements in a shared cup. From services where you stay in your seats and trays are passed with individual elements. To single-service pre-packaged communion elements passed out before service and taken during communion. To sharing the Table of the Lord from your own tables in your homes in a virtual online worship experience during COVID and during medical recoveries, using whatever communion elements you had available. I remember during COVID using bagels at home on some Sundays when I didn’t have regular bread available, and using other kinds of juice when I ran out of grape juice in my home. Who knew coffee could be a communion cup! Regardless of who we celebrated the meal, we were committed to sharing the Table of the Lord together, as one body.
Once again, my friends, our church family is having a conversation about how our current practices help us or hinder us from sharing the Table of the Lord together as one body. In a discernment discussion that began in the Worship Team monthly meeting and grew to the Session monthly meeting, we revisited our communion practices and asked ourselves, “Is there a way we can share the Table together? Can we even share the specific elements of the meal together instead of breaking apart the communion service to different groups in the room and online?” You may not realize it, but our current practices push us to come to the Table separately and take the elements individually rather than together. How so? You ask.
First, we ask people with mobility differences to raise their hands, which requires them to be centered and pointed out so they can be served. For some people with mobility differences, this is neither helpful nor welcome.
Then, we have everyone else come forward in lines to take elements individually.
Then, we serve the Media team in the booth.
Then, we serve the choir.
Then, we serve the worship director, communion servers, and the pastor.
All the while, those gathering with us online are not included in the taking of the elements or the words shared with individuals during our intinction and passing of trays.
This has caused the Worship Team and the Session to ask, “Is there a way we can take this meal together. All at once, consume each element at the same time, and share the same elements in the Sanctuary and in virtual worship?” We believe there is, and beginning in January, we are going to adopt a new communion practice to help us share the Table together and consume each element together.
We are going to use a single-service communion resource that will be available in the church office for those who worship from home to pick up before communion on Sunday, or have it delivered by friends in the congregation to them per their own arrangements. Below is a picture of this particular single-service communion resource that comes in gluten and gluten-free forms.
For those who gather with us in the Sanctuary in person, servers will pass out these individual cups at the door before service as people arrive. There will be baskets at the doors at the end of worship to collect the individual cups. We have chosen to use TrueVine cups because they are double-sided and much easier to open than the version we used before, which had a double-top. The TrueVine single-service cups also do not use the waffle, which was less appealing to many people; instead, they use a cracker.
When we approach this part of worship, the Pastor will invite everyone online, in-person, and those leading in parts of worship to come together to consume each element in one unified act. First, the bread element on the bottom of the single-serving resource, and then the cup on the top, and join in a moment of prayer following each element being consumed. That means that everyone online and in person will take the elements together at the same time. Including all choir, band, media members, and the Pastor. One Table, one meal, for one body. No individual will be asked to acknowledge mobility differences or special service needs; no one will have to wait until after everyone else to take the meal; instead, as one church (virtual and in-person), we will celebrate the Lord’s love feast together.
The Worship Team and the Session realize that with this change, we are losing practices such as certain bread choices and no longer having wine as a choice. We will adopt this change from January through April and revisit it as a practice in May. We invite you to share your experiences with us about the change by contacting the church office. Comments will be captured and shared with the Pastor, Worship Team, and the Session. We will report back to you in the April Pres Press with the feedback we have received and whether we will continue this practice or return to our former practices.
With great hope for the possibilities this change to our practices will bring as we come to the Table together, as one body,
Pastor Tony