Community, Pt. 1: Communion
Take Communion
Leader: While most Communities begin their time with communion, tonight’s Practice is centered around communion, so consider waiting to take it together at the end of this Guide.
Read This Overview Aloud Together
On the night before Jesus was betrayed, he sat down with his disciples for one last meal. Throughout the centuries that followed, the church has observed this final meal under many names – earliest followers of Jesus called it “the love feast”, our Catholic brothers and sisters refer to it as the sacrament of the Eucharist, and many Protestants know it as the Lord’s supper or communion. Each offers important glimpses into the person of Jesus and his relationship to us; and, however it is observed, this historic and biblical Practice is one that ought to be taken up with great intentionality. In it, we remember the life that Jesus gave us through his death, taking communion as a symbolic celebration of the wedding feast we will eat one day with him in New Creation.
At Bridgetown, we primarily observe the Practice of communion through the weekly meal eaten together in Bridgetown Communities all over the city, attempting to model Jesus’ own meal with his friends. Taking a moment to mark this meal as separate from the other meals we eat during the week – through prayer, scripture, silence, or another way – helps us enter into a sacred space in which we look back to the death of Jesus and forward to our resurrection. And to do so with all present – kids and adults – helps us mirror the diverse beauty of God’s Kingdom.
Tonight, we are going to spend time exploring our Community’s current rhythm and Practice of communion (or building one if we don’t yet have one).
Do This Practice Tonight
Whether or not we have a regular rhythm of communion, our goal tonight is to establish one that is repeatable, simple, and intentional. Since the goal is to take communion together each week, we will need to have sustainable rhythms in place to make that happen. But, since there are many ways in which a Community can observe communion each week, there is freedom to find one that best fits our Community. Before we get to the brainstorming, let’s take a moment to talk about where we’re currently at.
To begin our conversation, let’s discuss our Community’s current rhythm of communion.
What does everyone understand our Community's communion practice to be? Do we have one?
If we have one, how does everyone feel like this is going? Are we observing communion weekly in a meaningful way?
Leader: Pause for people to explore your Community’s current rhythm.
The following part of the Guide is aimed at helping our Community establish or shore up our communion Practice through 3 questions. Each question provides a few of the most common ways Bridgetown Communities observe communion. So we’ll spend some time with each question and the options, making sure not to move on until we have returned to answer each question.
1. How do we want to take communion? Since communion is a symbol of the wedding feast we will eat with Jesus in New Creation, there are many ways to represent that meal. In Communities, two of the most common are:
Bread & Wine: Having tangible elements of communion can help symbolize the meal Jesus ate, so some prefer to take communion with some form of bread (e.g. bread, crackers, tortilla, etc.) and some form of wine (e.g. wine, grape juice, etc.).
The Whole Meal Together: In church services, the bread and the wine symbolize the whole meal that Jesus ate with his disciples and that we will eat one day with him, so some prefer to use the meal itself as the communion elements.
2. How do we want to lead communion? There are many ways to lead communion, none of them better than another. Here are some of the most common ways people choose to do it, though it’s ok to let whoever leads each week choose:
The Community Guide: Every teaching series will have its own communion Practice that we are welcome to use. It begins every Community Guide and anyone can find those at bridgetown.church/teaching
Scripture: Most common is to simply take a moment to read a passage of scripture – a psalm, teaching of Jesus, the story of that last meal Jesus ate with his disciples.
Silence & Prayer: Taking a moment in silence to remember God’s presence to us and then closing in prayer can be really powerful.
Gratitude: Take a moment to do some sort of gratitude exercise – “What is one thing you are grateful to God for from today?” – and have each person say it aloud as a quick prayer.
Sharing Personally: The communion leader may take a minute or two to share what God has been speaking to her or him about and then close in prayer.
3. Who leads communion? Our Community is made up of individuals who are unique gifts to the world around us. While not everyone feels comfortable immediately to lead communion, anyone can. Here are the most common ways Community’s figure out whose turn it is to lead:
Communion Point Person: Establish a person whose role is to oversee ensuring that communion happens weekly. They wouldn’t lead communion each week, but simply help coordinate who does.
Communion Tag: End communion each night by having the person who led it that week ask someone else present to do it next week
Communion & Meal Combo: If our Community cycles through who makes the meal each week, leading communion could be folded into that responsibility.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
Finally, before we take communion tonight and close in prayer, let’s take a second to talk about the Practice for the week ahead. The invitation is to set aside some intentional time to pray for our Community. Specifically, spend some time in intercession, asking God to guide and guard our Community as we work through this series together.
End in Communion & Prayer
Leader: We’ve provided an optional communion liturgy below that you’re welcome to use, but you’re welcome to lead communion however you would like.
As we close with communion, take a moment to breathe deep and to be still and silent before the Lord.
Ask God to help gather your scattered senses and to make you aware of his presence.
Leader: Spend 30 seconds or so in silence
Hear the words of Mark’s account of Jesus last meal with his disciples:
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Leader: Spend 30 seconds or so in silence, then close in a prayer of gratitude.