Signal Before You Change Lanes: Making a Transition to Weekly Holy Communion

"Every week!" Doris exclaimed, "I'm not sure I would like that." "Well, I'm not sure either," said Seth, "but I would be willing to try it for a while and see." The Nurture Group of Rocky River UMC was coming to terms with Pastor Linda's suggestion that the church find a way to celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly instead of monthly. The meeting went on with questions about why she was making the proposal. She had some strong reasons. She was signaling a lane change.

This Holy Mystery (THM), the official paper on Holy Communion adopted by the 2004 General Conference, urges congregations to

move toward a richer sacramental life, including weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper at the services on the Lord's Day, as advocated by the general orders of Sunday worship in The United Methodist Hymnal and The United Methodist Book of Worship. (p. 34)

This, of course, is only one of the recommendations of the paper that also urges teaching and practicing the "real presence"; formation of clergy in stronger skills for presiding; connecting Eucharist, evangelism, and ethical living; and extending the table to the unwillingly absent.

Response across The United Methodist Church to this encouragement toward frequent communion is mixed, though the committee that developed the paper was surprisingly unanimous in its recommendation. Some folks are amazed and shocked at the idea of "weekly celebration," probably because "that is something other denominations do" and because "we have never done it that way before." Others are delighted and glad to hear that the church now affirms weekly celebration, because they are already practicing weekly "Word and Table" services or dearly want to. Still others are open to the idea but not sure how their congregation would make this change — especially without making some members very unhappy.

The general rule of thumb, to quote my colleague Safiyah Fosua, is this: Signal before you change lanes. This sums up memorably what is often forgotten when leaders are fired with zeal for changing lanes in church practice. Note: The General Conference is doing just that by adopting THM — it is not legislation, it is a guiding resource for theology and practice. It is an invitation to study and Christian conferencing at all levels of the church around this central sacrament.

What follows is a listing of some of the things your congregation and its leaders can do to signal that you would like to change lanes.

1. Look ahead and in your rearview mirror: Study the General Conference statement using This Holy Mystery. The book is set up for a seven-session group experience. Alternative guides are available online: a one-day pastor's group outlineand a three-session overview for laity groups. There is also a overview PowerPointpresentation that was given at the Healthy Churches event in Houston in January 2005.
   
2. Watch the traffic: Know and love your people. Talk to them individually, but better in group settings about their experience of Holy Communion. Find out what it means to them. Invite them to share when they experienced the Lord's Supper as most meaningful, when they struggled with it. Barbara Green, a member of the study committee, witnessed to wonderful openness, healing, and rich discovery when she invited people to talk about their experience of the Holy Meal. Go to "We Want More" on Healthy Churchesand click on the "Appreciative Inquiry" resource for a tool you can use.
   
3. Plan to move over: Suddenly changing lanes may scare people. Work with your worship leadership and other key leaders. Many churches that have moved to weekly celebration did so after trying it out for a season, such as Advent and Christmas or Lent and Easter. This gave staff and congregation, including the pastor, an opportunity to see what it felt like to live as a "Word and Table" community. It also gave them a chance to deal with rough spots such as length of service, mechanics of serving, awareness of inherited moods or service tone that may be contradictory to the liturgy. Such planning needs to include weekly reflection on what the congregation and leaders are experiencing so the learning curve is continuous and feeds back into improved weekly practice.
   
4. Be sure you are ready to change lanes. Get theologically grounded — this isn't baby food! If you and key leaders are confident and committed to making the change, then body language, tone of voice, and depth of conviction will come across. This is about theological integrity — not the cosmetics of leadership! Do your homework: study THM; read Wesley's sermon on the "Duty of Constant Communion;" remember that you (if you are an ordained elder or a licensed local pastor) were ordained or authorized to word, sacrament, order, and service; revisit and update your understanding of ecclesiology grounded in the sacraments. Gordon Lathrop in Holy Things reminds us that being church requires being attentive to two things: the central things (the Word, the sacraments, etc.) and keeping an open boundary — an open door. THM is a call to pay attention to the Eucharist at the center while keeping our eyes on God's entire world.
   
5. Be sure that when you click the signal lever the lights work. Make it richer if you want to celebrate more often. THM not only refers to "weekly celebration" but sets that in the context of moving "toward a richer sacramental life." If your congregation's celebrations of Holy Communion are currently boring, too long, sloppy, too much like "Good Friday" instead of "Easter," don't be surprised if weekly celebration is not met with enthusiasm. Maybe the way your congregation currently celebrates the Lord's Supper is not as trim and vital as Jesus wants it to be! Maybe those table dismissals need to go. Maybe the pastor reading the service as if she/he never saw it before has to be replaced with vigorous prayer and use of gestures that sound like our praiseful thanksgiving. Maybe fresh, good bread needs to replace stingy little cubes of Wonder Bread. Maybe those who serve the elements need to love the people they are serving and look them in the eye and say with conviction, "This is the body of Christ/the blood of Christ, given for you." Maybe ... Maybe ...
   
6. Let the signal be motivated by turning toward home. Why do we have sermons? So people can hear the gospel! What is the gospel? Jesus loves us! Even the great theologian Karl Barth was willing to sum it up in the children's song "Jesus Loves Me." So why not pair the Word with the Table: if we preach the love of God in Jesus Christ, why not welcome all who hear to meet him, eat with him, and share in his love with all people? The Eucharist is not adding something on to worship — it is fulfilling it in the most tangible, simple, basic way suited to our humanity: eating with the risen Christ.
   
7. When you change lanes, remember, everyone in the car goes with you. The whole congregation celebrates the meal.

   Principle: The whole assembly actively celebrates Holy Communion. (THM, p. 35)
   Principle: The prayer of Great Thanksgiving is addressed to God, is prayed by the whole people, and is led by the presiding minister. (THM, p. 35)

   One of the reasons congregations may be reluctant to celebrate weekly is that they have been neglected and left out as active participants in the celebration. Plan and enact ways that the congregation can actively share in the celebration through placement of the table so that they sense being around it, singable heart music, and postures and gestures that engage. This is not a solo performance! The presider leads but all celebrate as Christ's royal priesthood. Imagine the Spirit unleashed in the whole people praying the great prayer. (See THM, pp. 35-36, for more on this.)
   
8. Signal that the congregation is turning away from excommunication! Extend the table to the unavoidably absent. When the church celebrates the Lord's Supper and does not serve the absent, it is dismembered. It passively excommunicates some members while including others. We can do better.

   Principle: The Communion elements are consecrated and consumed in the context of the gathered congregation. The Table may be extended, in a timely manner, to include those unable to attend because of age, illness, or similar conditions. Laypeople may distribute the consecrated elements in the congregation and extend them to members who are unavoidably absent (BOD ¶¶331.1.b and 1115.9). An elder or deacon should offer appropriate training, preparation, and supervision for this important task (¶331.1.b). (THM, p. 37)

   H ere again, this change could lead to reformation of the body of Christ. Laity would have the opportunity to embody the love of God in sharing the sacrament and those who are unavoidably absent would be included in sharing the great meal.
   
9. Turn the wheels in the direction you are signaling. How many times have you seen a car signal one direction and then turn in the opposite direction? or when the signal lights are not flashing but the car turns? Come to terms with Word and Table. Why should the church be confused or apologetic for being evangelical and sacramental at the same time? How did United Methodists come to separate Word from Table, when our roots are in both? (For more on this see The Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley, by J. Ernest Rattenbury.)

   Principle: The complete pattern of Christian worship for the Lord's Day is Word and Table ... Word and Table are not in competition ... Their separation diminishes the fullness of life in the Spirit offered to us through faith in Jesus Christ. (THM, p. 33)

   T his coupling is basic, though long and often neglected. Preach and teach the vital connection of the Word proclaimed and enacted. Christ must never be allowed to be for us concepts, mere words, spiritualized ideas and platitudes; Christ comes to us incarnate, bodily, in life as real as shared bread and wine. What if our sacramental life led us to more vigorous enactment of sacramental living in a culture geared to pious talk but little action with regard to the hungry poor and the excluded and marginalized?
   
10. (Maybe this should have been number 1) Changing frequency and richness is the work of the Spirit. Remember this is central to our life as Christians, so the Holy Spirit will enable this change. The congregation gathered around the risen Lord in Word and Table is a proleptic scene from the reign of God. It is the vital center of the communal means of grace for all who would share the baptismal covenant for the life of the world. Here the people of God are fed and clothed with dignity before going out to love and serve God and neighbor in daily life. So, be not afraid, for this renewal of sacramental piety and practice will come about, not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

Start signaling!

Related resources:
This Holy Mystery: Moving from Paper to Practice
Planning Holy Communion Throughout the Year

"Signal Before You Change Lanes: Making a Transition to Weekly Holy Communion" copyright © 2005 Discipleship Ministries, PO Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Worship website: www.umcworship.org.

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