This Sunday we will be sharing in the Lord's Supper together at both Morning and Night Church. It is great to prepare ourselves before we share this meal together and you might find these words helpful.
A number of people have been asking about our practice of the Lord's Supper - how often and when do we share it?
Generally we celebrate the Lord's Supper together at church at least once a term as determined by when it fits best with what we're reading in the Bible passages. Sometime this might mean we find ourselves sharing in it in quick succession and sometimes there will be longer gaps.
I don't believe that there is a required/right frequency and most of us default to what we are most familiar with and anything else feels weird. (It is probably no surprise that my church experience has been to share it less than most.) It is worth each of us asking ourselves the question - Where does my preference come from? What do I think the Lord's Supper is for?
If you follow Jesus' words in Matthew 26 (as we will see this week) then you would only celebrate the Lord's Supper once a year - at Passover. If you follow Paul it would be every week or every time Christians gathered together (1 Cor 11). According to The Book of Common Prayer - at least 4 times a year.
That said, I think there is freedom to find the right frequency. We want to find a balance between doing it regularly for our spiritual benefit but not so frequently that it becomes ritualistic. It is also a balance between being welcoming and understandable to the outsider and meeting the needs and wishes of the people of God.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Grace & peace,
Andrew
eNews - 16th March 2023