Holy Communion

[VivDaGurl]

How often does your church Holy Communion and how is the Holy Communion is being served at your church?

For my church, Holy Communion are served every first Sunday of the month, Maundy Thursday and also Watch Night Service (31st December of every year). Maundy Thursday and Watch Night Service, we get to take the real bread from the bakery while on the first Sundays of the month, we have rounded wafer to replace the bread instead.

The order of the Holy Communion comes from the Methodist Hymnal and then, we will all go to the front of the altar and kneel down with both hands in front of us to receive the bread and the wine (sparkling juice).

[xhristlives]

identical apart from the 'rounded wafer'

[Cary.Melvin]

The order of the Holy Communion comes from the Methodist Hymnal and then, we will all go to the front of the altar and kneel down with both hands in front of us to receive the bread and the wine (sparkling juice).

Why do you kneel down?

[VivDaGurl]

Why do you kneel down?

Hhhhmmm....seriously, I have not thought of why because everybody does it, I just follow... :P

I supposed to humble ourself before the Lord and also that in the olden days (during Jesus' time), everybody sits on the floor while meals are served. Perhaps, instead of sitting on the floor, we kneel down....

[Qyöt27]

How often does your church Holy Communion and how is the Holy Communion is being served at your church?

For my church, Holy Communion are served every first Sunday of the month, Maundy Thursday and also Watch Night Service (31st December of every year). Maundy Thursday and Watch Night Service, we get to take the real bread from the bakery while on the first Sundays of the month, we have rounded wafer to replace the bread instead.

The order of the Holy Communion comes from the Methodist Hymnal and then, we will all go to the front of the altar and kneel down with both hands in front of us to receive the bread and the wine (sparkling juice).
Ours was almost identical, in that we had it on the first Sunday of the month and read from the Hymnal, but we always had bread cubes and plain grape juice (although I'm certain that the AME church I visited during Confirmation class actually served wine). We would come and kneel at the Communion Rail (that being the common name; in speech it was always referred to as the altar), and have the elements distributed.

I'm not sure if what I described above is still done at the Traditional services at our church, but the Contemporary service has moved to having the Head Pastor and Associate Pastor at the front of the aisle with the chalice and a plate of bread cubes, and the congregation takes the bread from the platter, dips it in the grape juice, and takes it that way.

As for the reasons behind doing it in one way or the other, I'm not sure.

[Strong in Him]

We have communion once a month - no fixed Sunday. Our minister usually takes it, and she has two churches so it depends what's happening in her larger one. We don't have evening service, so it's always in the morning. We also don't have Maundy Thursday or watchnight services. Our church anniversary is sometimes communion, depending I think on who the visiting preacher is. Our covenant service is also communion, but it's not an extra one, it would be our communion service for January.
At Christmas we only have a short service on Christmas day itself, so our communion is before then, probably the carol service.

We have bread at the service and individual cups of non alcoholic wine (I think, it tastes like Ribena but I've been assured it's not!). Most people kneel at the rail except those of us who have a problem kneeling. The minister takes communion to those who can't get to the rail. Very occasionally we may remain in our seats, pass the bread and wine round, and all eat and drink together.

[Ellesar]

I don't know how often we do communion at the church I go to...I think we do it about once a month. We have the pastor and some of the associate pastors doing it, and everyone goes to one of the people with the goblet of juice and a small loaf of bread. Everyone tears off a piece of bread and dips it in the goblet. I don't know how it's done at the traditional service at my church, but what I described above is how it's done in the contemporary service

[gtsecc]

Why do you kneel down?
They never had Vatican II, which I believe is the source of not kneeling.

[Bonifatius]

They never had Vatican II, which I believe is the source of not kneeling.


True!

Methodism is an offspring of the Church of England. The Anglicans - as a church of the catholic tradition of faith - always kept the practice of kneeling at the communion rail while receiving the body and blood of Christ. After Vatican II the Roman Catholics started having their new form of communion (which I don't like).

Greetings
Bonifatius