Holy Communion

The clear link of Holy Communion with the life & death of Jesus has given the sacrament a unique place in the life of the Church.

Early Christians regularly met together to break bread because they believed that Jesus had told them to do so- “Take this & eat it.”

The service brings together the human and the divine- God and humanity.

The Catholics and Orthodox Churches believe that Christ is actually present in the bread and wine once they have been blessed (transubstantiation). The Mass becomes a sacrificial re-enactment of the actual death of Jesus at Calvary.

The Eucharist

The Church of England celebrates communion as the Eucharist as a service of thanksgiving. Two aspects are focused on:

  1. Sufferings of Christ up to and during his death on the Cross.

  1. Approach of the worshipper to receive the sacrament.

A community meal in which every worshipper share on an equal basis.

“Peace”- they hug and kiss one another with the words “The Peace of the Lord be with you.” This enables them to go out into the world to share the Gospel of Christ with others.

The Mass

Mass is celebrated frequently in every Roman Catholic Church. The liturgy underlines four basic beliefs:

  1. Service should mirror the Last Supper.
  2. Mass is a sacrifice which is offered continually to God.
  3. An act of thanksgiving.
  4. Spiritually nourished through the Mass.

People are invited to repent of their sins and experience the forgiveness of God. Bible readings are read from the Old Testament, Gospels and Epistles.

Nicene Creed- sums up what the Church believes about God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church and the life to come.

Divine Liturgy

Any service, which follows a prescribed and ancient ritual, it means “the people’s work of thanksgiving to God”.

Iconostasis- the screen that separates the people in the congregation from the high altar. It indicates the gulf, which exists between God and humanity brought by sin.

Preparation of the bread and wine for communion. Royal Doors are closed symbolising the holiness of the death of Jesus and the elements, bread and wine.

Bread & wine are blessed and consecrated.

Each communicant waits to receive a piece of bread dipped in wine that is placed at the back of the mouth on a long silver spoon.

A choir singing accompanies the service.

The Lord’s Supper

Nonconformists: The Breaking of Bread- frequently share an ordinary meal; it fed those who were hungry and needy in the Christian community. The Lord’s Supper- a time of sharing and fellowship.

People confess their sins to God before listening to a passage from the Bible.

Bread and wine are placed on the Communion table. People kneel at the rail in the front of the church to receive communion. Symbolises the Protestant belief that Christ makes claims on each person individually. The wine is given to people in tiny glasses and everyone drinks together as a mark of oneness in Christ.

Protestants do not believe that anything happens to the bread and wine during the Lord’s Supper. The bread and simply act as important symbols of much deeper spiritual realities and are a stimulus to meditation.

The Catholic Order of Service

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Preparation of the altar and the gifts

Prayer over the Gifts

Eucharistic Prayer

Preface: Acclamation (Holy, Holy)

Eucharistic Prayer 1

Memorial prayer and oblation

Concluding doxology

Communion Rite

Rite of Peace

Communion Hymn or Communion Antiphon

Prayer after communion

Concluding Rite

Solemn Blessing

Prayer over the people

Dismissal

Anglican Order of Service

The Preparation

Gloria in Excelsis

The Ministry of the Word

The Nicene Creed

Banns of Marriage and other notices

The Intercession

The Ministry of the Sacrament

The Offertory

The Great Thanksgiving

The Communion

The Post-Communion

The Dismissal

Worship

There are a number of elements to consider when looking at worship.

  1. Prayer- “A covenant between God and humanity in Christ”. A living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure with his son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.

  1. Reading Scripture- determine what passages should be read. Hearing and responding to the word of God is part of Christian worship. Early in the Church priority was given to reading from the Gospels as a public declaration of the words and deeds of Christ. One from the Old Testament, one from the New and one from the Gospels. Following the readings there is usually an explanation through a sermon.

  1. Preaching- “a word”. A statement or application of Christian faith and often takes the form of the exegesis of a biblical passage, theme or an article of the creed. Very Important.

  1. The reciting of the Creed- Apostles or Nicene; these remind believers of the basic themes of their faith and enable them to avoid false teachings.

Extempore Prayer

Spontaneous prayer, composed at the time of utterance, though occasionally with some preparation. A gift from God.

Traditional liturgies had only a few parts where some spontaneity was permitted- names into intercessions.

Some argued that the Lord’s Prayer was only given as a model and was not intended for actual repetition.

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They felt that all set prayers could not meet the needs of the congregations.

Some ministers’ alternate- they write a prayer suitable to a particular occasion or compose a prayer, which nevertheless follows a fixed pattern.

Development of Christianity

Jesus chose twelve disciples:

  1. As companions

  1. So that they could share his work and cover more ground.

  1. So that they could continue his ministry after he had left them.

The disciples formed the first Christian Community preaching publicly that Jesus was the promised Messiah, their previous despair and cowardice was replaced ...

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