Communion at Christ Church
Whoever you are and wherever you are in your spiritual journey, all are
welcome to the table, either to receive a blessing or, if you are baptized,
communion. Cross your arms over your chest for a blessing; extend your hands
for the bread and gently guide the cup to your lips. If you prefer, you may
intinct (dip) the bread in the wine. If you require a gluten-free wafer, please
tell the clergy administering the bread.
Communion in the Episcopal Church
At the time of the Reformation (16th Century), the authors of
the Book of Common Prayer, like the Reformers Luther and Calvin, were concerned
to restore the weekly reception of Holy Communion to the Church. They all
realized that this had been the practice of the Early
Church, but in the Middle Ages most
lay people received Communion only on Easter. They attended Mass weekly, or even
daily, but only the priest received communion, except at Easter. The full Sunday
service of The Book of Common Prayer was Morning Prayer, Litany, and Holy
Communion.
The Catholic revival associated with the Oxford Movement in
the 19th Century restored the weekly celebration of the Eucharist as normative
in Anglicanism, but this frequently took the form of an "early Communion
service" without music or preaching, attended by "the devout", early risers, and
those determined to avoid music, preaching or both. The usual worship experience
of Episcopalians was either choral Morning Prayer or, in Anglo Catholic
parishes, High Mass, at which the majority of the congregation did not
communicate. The Liturgical Movement in the middle of 20th Century made the
Family Eucharist a fixture in the majority of Episcopal congregations.
Today
Most Episcopalians attend a Sunday celebration of the
Eucharist with both music and preaching, and with the general communion of the
entire congregation. It is held weekly as "the principal act of Christian
worship on the Lord's Day." (Book of Common Prayer, p. 13) Families are urged to
attend together, and participation in the service is frequently an integral part
of the parish Christian education program for both children and adults.
This service of both Word and Sacrament, and is intended to be
a comprehensive service of Sunday worship. The Holy Eucharist, the Prayer Book
says, "is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his
life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again." It is also the service
in which we hear the word of God proclaimed in the Gospel, in the other readings
from Scripture, and in the sermon. We read from the Old Testament, the Epistles,
and the Gospels. We recite or sing a psalm, and listen to a sermon. Then we pray
for the Church and the world, and ask God's forgiveness for our sins.
Finally, we greet one another in the peace of Christ and move
to the sacramental service of the Holy Communion.
In some periods, such as the Middle Ages, the Church has
emphasized the Sacramental presence of Christ and largely ignored the
proclamation the Word. In others, such as the 17th and 18th centuries, the
pendulum swung in the other direction, the Word and the sermon were emphasized
and the Sacraments celebrated only occasionally.
Today we attempt to strike a balance and follow the example of
the earliest Christian centuries and of the great Reformers, as we obey Christ's
command, "Do this for the remembrance of me."
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