At Smithfield United Church of Christ, everyone is invited to participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion. The invitation is printed in the bulletin and spoken from the pulpit: "Our table is an open one. All in attendance are invited to commune." The choice to participate is a personal choice. It is left to parents to determine whether a child may receive the elements.

What better way is there for all to gain a greater understanding of the sacrament than one of our popular intergenerational opportunities. And so on the 5th Sunday in Lent 2009 adults and children representing all ages of the congregation gathered in the Social Hall for a Smithfield School class on Holy Communion. Here's the story of that morning.

"If you remember your first day of school, stand up," invites Minister of Education Liddy.

And about 2/3rds of the folks – adults and children – stand.

"How many remember the color of the shirt you wore yesterday?" Hmm. Not so many.

"How many remember all of the words of the Lord's Prayer?" Almost everyone, including the younger children who have learned it in Smithfield School.

Why does Liddy ask these and other similar questions? To show that our recall of many things is limited unless we have reminders and to serve as an introduction to our study of why we celebrate Holy Communion:

• to remember the Passover meal Jesus had with his disciples the night before he was betrayed
• to remember how at the end of the meal he shared the bread broken for them and the wine poured out for them
• to remember his command that they do this often in his name

Liddy encourages anyone who wishes to participate as a disciple in a reenactment of that meal to don a robe and take a seat at the table. A flurry of robes follows, and then all is quiet as Greg reads the story of that long ago night.

  
  

Learning about Holy Communion: Part 2

  – through you and me!