Some Communion variations

The Newton Record

NEWTON May 15, 2008 08:06 pm

— Those who belong to Christian denominations know that the unleavened bread and the wine, or grape juice, used in communion represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, there are as many different ways of serving communion as there are denominations. There is not a standard communion service which is used across Christendom.
During my lifetime, I have been affiliated with three denominations, and I have attended services in the churches of denominations from Pentecostal to Catholic. I have always been interested in the variations of Holy Communion as it is practiced in various denominations.
During my younger years, I attended a rural southern Baptist Church in South Georgia where my parents were members. This was in the days of the Great Depression, and the host (or communion bread) was baked by a lady named Rosa Brown. Mrs. Brown baked communion crackers that were crumbled and passed on a tray among the congregation. The grape juice was poured into little paper cups and also passed among the congregation.
In later years, in more affluent Baptist Churches, the communion wafers are purchased and passed along with the grape juice. The tiny plastic or glass cups in which the juice is served are then placed into slots on the backs of pews. My Baptist friends tell me that in some Baptist churches the congregation will go the altar to take communion on special occasions like Christmas or Easter.
In the Episcopal Church (or in England, the Church of England), there is a great deal of ritual connected with the taking of communion. The congregation kneels at the communion rail in front of the altar. Hands are clasped with the thumbs crossed. This forms a cross as a reminder of the crucifixion. The wafer is placed in the palm of the left hand by the officiating minister (or priest). The wafer is placed in the left hand because the right hand is used to attend to bodily functions, and the left hand is considered the cleaner hand.
The wafer is then lifted and taken on the tongue. Wine is used in the Episcopal service. The wine is passed in a common cup or chalice. Everyone drinks from the same cup which might be very plain or elaborate enough to be set with semi-precious stones on the stem and base. Although many consider drinking from a common cup to be unsanitary, it is a fact that the cause of no disease or illness has ever been traced to a communion cup.
When communion is concluded in the Episcopal Church, the vessels are cleaned and stored. The water used in the washing of the vessels must be poured onto the ground rather than through a sink. This is done because the wine and bread have been blessed and are believed to be the body and blood of Christ; therefore, it cannot be allowed to get into a sewer.
From time to time over the years, I have attended Catholic services with friends. In the Catholic churches I have visited, communion is served from a common chalice, but members of the congregation do not kneel at the altar rail. When communion is announced, the congregation forms a line down the center of the church and stand before the priest and his assistant to take communion. Administering of communion moves with great expediency, and a large congregation can be served without the hesitation of many kneeling groups. As in the Episcopal Church, wine is served. There was a time when the congregation took the bread, but the wine was taken only by the priest. This practice was discontinued several years ago.
The Methodists hold an entirely open communion. Because children in the Methodist Church are usually christened when they are infants, they are considered to be a child of God; therefore, in some Methodist churches, communion may be served to small children. Visitors from other denominations are invited to partake of communion in the Methodist church if they, as the liturgy requires, feel that they have repented of their sins. I once attended a Methodist church in Nashville, Tennessee, where wine was served, but that is rare. At times, the Methodists will use a common cup, but the bread is broken and dipped into the juice. The communicants do not drink from a common vessel.
Communion is celebrated at different times by different denominations. Each Sunday, communion is served in the Catholic Church. In the Methodist church I attend, it is served once a month and in the White Plains Assembly located between Union and Sebastopol, communion is served once a year.
At White Plains, communion is preceded with a foot washing as a part of the communion service. The communion bread is home baked, and communion is open to members of any denomination.
This discussion is limited to my own observations from having attended several denominations. I am sure that there are variations in the service in other churches and denominations. It doesn’t matter how communion is served. What is significant is the service itself: a reminder that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind.

Ovid Vickers, a retired East Central Community College professor, writes a weekly column for The Newton Record.