Transmission

Communion by Numbers April 9, 2008

Bowie and I spent a lovely three days in West Cornwall Connecticut last week, hanging out with a bunch of other young church leaders as part of a consultation sponsored by Trinity Wall Street.  There were a lot of really exciting conversations taking place and I found it incredibly invigorating to be surrounded by intelligent, passionate kindred spirits.  Kudos to Trinity for being so forward looking.

On one of the nights, Bowie and I led the group through the Eucharist which we led at Easter at Avalon last year, a communion by numbers based on a ritual developed by the Grace Community.  A lot of people asked us for the text, so I’m including it here below the break.

It also led to some very interesting conversations regarding Eucharistic theology, Episcopal ecclesiology, priesthood of all believers, and the emerging church.  It occurred to me that Transmission has largely dodged these questions by not incorporating communion into our practice, but this isn’t a decision that we ever discussed.  Eucharist is one of the few practices shared by virtually every Christian tradition (except the Quakers), and yet very few traditions agree on exactly what communion is and exactly why we do it.

Would there be interest in doing a 3-4 week series on Eucharistic theology on the non-Transmission Wednesdays?  It would help many us develop our understanding of communion as individuals and it might lead to us forming a policy on communion as a group.  We might decide that having communion is an important symbol of our connection to the larger Christian community or we might decide that we shouldn’t do it for theological reaons, but either way we would have reached an informed consensus as a group.

Communion By Numbers from Easter at Avalon:

Paper bags are handed out containing a piece of bread and ten envelops.  Participants are encouraged to get in groups of 6-10 and hand out the envelopes, opening them in order.  Inside the envelops are slips of paper that say:

1. Sursum Corda: Have everyone in the group introduce him or herself.
2. Preface: Share one thing from the last week for which you’re thankful.
3. Anamnesis: Read the following story out loud: [normally this would be the words of institution at the last supper, but at Avalon we used the road to Emmaus and in Connecticut we used the lyrics to The Stranger, by j. Snodgrass and myself]
4. Reflection: Encourage everyone to share a reaction they had to the story.  If the story did not move them, they should share a reaction they’ve had to the service, or anything else that might be on their mind.
5. Get the Wine: Send two or three people to the bar to get enough glasses of wine and/or grape juice for your group.  Make sure you know how many want wine and how many want grape juice.  [Since Easter at Avalon was done in a night club, there was a bar]
6. Bless the Bread: Hold the bread so everyone can see it.  Say these words: Blessed are you, God, source of all life, who brings forth bread from the earth. Then break the bread and hold onto it.
7. Bless the Wine: Hold the wine so everyone can see it.  Say these words: Blessed are you, God, Spirit of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine.
8. Epiclesis: Pray these words: Bless these gifts, God, and let them be for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Nourish us with food and community so that we may live in the fullness of life which you intend for us.
9. Communion: Eat the bread, drink the wine.
10. Offertory: Put the garbage back into the paper bag and hold onto this envelope (#10).  Stand or sit together in silence and wait for the next activity. [the envelopes were used to collect money to offset the expense of the event]