HOW TO PREPARE FOR COMMUNION at home
| Prepare for Communion at Home |
Participate with Your Household
We encourage you to participate with your household. John Knox, a 16th-century pastor, encouraged families to participate together in worship and would celebrate communion in people’s homes. This is a tradition we can call on.
Prepare the Table & Elements
Prepare ahead of time by having grape juice (or wine) in individual cups and individual portions of bread or crackers. Consider baking your own unleavened bread at home. (See below for a simple recipe.)
Set a table, making it as “holy” and sacred as possible. This isn’t a church potluck!
Examine Your Heart & Relationships
Before coming to the Lord’s Table, examine your heart and relationships and take steps toward forgiveness and reconciliation. Especially seek forgiveness from the Lord, perhaps by praying the words of David in Psalm 51:7–12:
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Prayerfully Reflect on Thankfulness
Since Communion is also called “Eucharist” (Thanksgiving) and the “joyful feast of the Lord,” spend some time reflecting on things for which you are thankful, for things that have given you joy, and prayerfully express your gratitude to the Lord.
Participate Online
During the online service, as the pastor directs, partake of the bread and the cup, knowing that your brothers and sisters in their places are communing with you.
Indicate Your Participation
At the conclusion of the service, please let us know you participated in one of these ways:
• Put a comment on the Facebook Live stream.
• Complete the sign-in form located on our website at: welcometothejourney.org/contact-us
• or email us at office@welcometothejourney.org
Finally, Remember These Words:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
This guide was adapted from First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs.
http://www.firstprescos.org/online-communion/
The photo at the top was graciously provided by Marilyn J. Ehle.
We encourage you to participate with your household. John Knox, a 16th-century pastor, encouraged families to participate together in worship and would celebrate communion in people’s homes. This is a tradition we can call on.
Prepare the Table & Elements
Prepare ahead of time by having grape juice (or wine) in individual cups and individual portions of bread or crackers. Consider baking your own unleavened bread at home. (See below for a simple recipe.)
Set a table, making it as “holy” and sacred as possible. This isn’t a church potluck!
Examine Your Heart & Relationships
Before coming to the Lord’s Table, examine your heart and relationships and take steps toward forgiveness and reconciliation. Especially seek forgiveness from the Lord, perhaps by praying the words of David in Psalm 51:7–12:
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Prayerfully Reflect on Thankfulness
Since Communion is also called “Eucharist” (Thanksgiving) and the “joyful feast of the Lord,” spend some time reflecting on things for which you are thankful, for things that have given you joy, and prayerfully express your gratitude to the Lord.
Participate Online
During the online service, as the pastor directs, partake of the bread and the cup, knowing that your brothers and sisters in their places are communing with you.
Indicate Your Participation
At the conclusion of the service, please let us know you participated in one of these ways:
• Put a comment on the Facebook Live stream.
• Complete the sign-in form located on our website at: welcometothejourney.org/contact-us
• or email us at office@welcometothejourney.org
Finally, Remember These Words:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
This guide was adapted from First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs.
http://www.firstprescos.org/online-communion/
The photo at the top was graciously provided by Marilyn J. Ehle.
Unleavened Bread
Communion follows the model of the Jewish Passover meal, which began when God rescued the people of Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt: the Exodus. At the time, bread-baking was a daily—and long, labor-intensive—process. But the Israelites needed to be ready to travel on a moment's notice; they didn't have time to let bread rise, so God told them to bake unleavened bread: no yeast, no rising agent. This simple recipe will take just a few minutes to prepare.
1 c of all purpose flour
1/3 c water
1/3 c oil
1/8 tsp (a pinch) salt.
Mix ingredients, spread on cookie sheet (we recommend using parchment paper on the pan), and bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from pan, but keep the flat bread whole until you break it during the communion service.
Communion follows the model of the Jewish Passover meal, which began when God rescued the people of Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt: the Exodus. At the time, bread-baking was a daily—and long, labor-intensive—process. But the Israelites needed to be ready to travel on a moment's notice; they didn't have time to let bread rise, so God told them to bake unleavened bread: no yeast, no rising agent. This simple recipe will take just a few minutes to prepare.
1 c of all purpose flour
1/3 c water
1/3 c oil
1/8 tsp (a pinch) salt.
Mix ingredients, spread on cookie sheet (we recommend using parchment paper on the pan), and bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from pan, but keep the flat bread whole until you break it during the communion service.