FROM YOUR PASTOR...

Nearly 70 years ago, on November 1, 1936, World-Wide Communion Day was born. In the winter of 1935, a group of ministers met to study the spiritual needs and possibilities

 of the church during the dark days of the Great Depression. In the Lord’s Supper they saw a great opportunity to unite Christians in dedication to Christ.

In 1937, the date of World-Wide Communion Sunday was changed to the first Sunday in October, where it has remained. The word “wide” has since been dropped from the name, giving us the present observance of World Communion Sunday.

The day remains as it began: “ A great opportunity to unite the membership in dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.” People from the four corners of the world gather together to answer Christ’s invitation, “This do in remembrance of me.”

As I think about World Communion Sunday, words from two authors stand side-by-side in my heart.  J. Ruth Gendler has written in “THE BOOK OF QUALITIES”, Commitment “...is married to joy”, and “...is not afraid of life.” In his book “THE FAITH WE AFFIRM”, Ronald Osborn writes “Those who respond to the Gospel of God, by confessing faith in Jesus Christ the Lord, God gathers in a joyful company of believers.” I love that expression - “a joyful company”!  That, which enables us to be that kind of community is our relationship with God, and our relationships with each other.  At the very heart of this relationship is an agreement between the members of the community and God.  This agreement is called a “covenant”.  Every covenant is just that -- an agreement between two parties in which those involved commit themselves to each other in certain ways.  In the covenant between God and us, God pledges God's self to be faithful to us, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful to God.  This is THE agreement upon which the church is established!  We enter into this covenant and are made one with the whole Body of Christ in our baptism.  Week by week we renew our covenant as we gather around the Table for Communion.  In Communion we remember what God has done for us in Christ, and we celebrate God’s continuing presence in our lives and in the world.  As we eat the bread and drink the cup we receive anew God’s forgiving and accepting love, and we commit ourselves to God’s way of peace, love and justice.  In this commitment we discover JOY! -- and courage for the living of our days!

This Sunday we will, as we do each week, gather around the Table; however, this week we will join with Christians of all denominations as we celebrate together World Communion Sunday.  I encourage you to make every effort to participate in this special observance.  May our joy be made complete . . .

Love & Blessings,
Wes