Why I Take Communion

Carl Gregg

I practice Communion using pieces of bread and sips of grape juice to experience a meaningful remembrance of Jesus. I have also practiced Communion as a full meal with loaves of bread, glasses of wine, candles, singing, and conversation to experience that we are called, not only to remember how Jesus ate, but also to eat more like Jesus himself ate.  And eating like Jesus reminds me that a level of faithfulness to Jesus' inclusive way is missing even from a full meal Communion with my friends, family, and congregation: eating with strangers and even enemies.

Carl Gregg is an Alliance of Baptist pastor serving Broadview Church in Calvert County, MD.  He blogs at Carl Gregg and Faith Forward at Patheos.

Christine Sine

Communion is one of the most important practices of my faith. It is far more than a reminder of Christ's death. Communion is an opportunity to join with all God's family -- past, present, and future in an act of fellowship that spans time and space. As we kneel with this time spanning family I am reminded of my responsibilities to sisters and brothers who are broken, lost, marginalized, and rejected. I cannot truly enter into fellowship with Christ unless they too can to enter with me -- healed, reconciled, cared and provided for, living in the abundance of God's shalom kingdom.  

Christine is co-founder of Mustard Seed Associates, a network of followers of Jesus seeking to put God's purposes first in their lives, and blogs at Godspace.

Bruce Epperly

Communion is about connection and embodiment. I take communion to join with my brothers and sisters in Christ across the globe, and then to embrace strangers and persons of other faiths. Communion reminds me that God is present in the ordinary media of bread and wine, but communion also inspires me to experience God in sharing meals with friends and family. Communion is, as the Celts say, a "thin place," which helps us discover what is: God's everlasting life in our ever-changing world. So, when I share communion, I affirm "the bread of life" and "the cup of healing."

Bruce is Professor of Practical Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary,co-pastor of Disciples United Community Churchin Lancaster, PA, and the author of many books including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living. Visit his website here.He blogs at Faith Forwardat Patheos.