Which churches have communion

They are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Up until , virtually all of them took the bread and wine at their annual memorial event. That was because they all believed themselves to be in the new covenant Christ inaugurated at the Last Supper, and that they were called to the heavenly kingdom.

However, a new teaching had arisen, claiming that only , such persons would ever be in that new covenant and go to heaven. This had a direct bearing on restricting the numbers partaking of the bread and wine because those not in that tiny group were said to have an earthly hope, and were not in the new covenant. They were not entitled to partake of the emblems. At their Washington D. Jehovah's Witnesses claim the 'other sheep' class began to be gathered particularly from onwards.

They also believed that the 'little flock' class had almost reached its numeric limit of , members shortly after then. All Jehovah's Witnesses claiming to be part of the little flock said they were convinced they would go to heaven.

In , memorial attendance worldwide was 63,, and 52, partook, testifying to their heavenly calling. From new members who were said to be 'other sheep' were invited to attend the memorial but not to partake. That showed a drop of 13, claimants of the little flock in only three years.

Significant drops continued right through to - it was down to 8, partakers then. By it was up to 15, Yet given there are more than eight and a half million members, it still remains true that only a tiny percentage of them feel entitled to partake of the bread and wine at their annual memorial event.

There are thousands of congregations where not one single member partakes. There is no observance of the event by the vast majority who just pass the plate, then the cup, to the person next to them, in silence.

Paul warns us about. So, the argument goes, we should not have communion too often, so that people will be careful to examine their hearts. This way of thinking is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Holy Table of Jesus Christ.

It is a table of grace. This is not to say that we should approach it lightly or frivolously. But it is to say that the Holy Communion is the place where baptized believers come to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Communion is for sinners, saved by grace. When we were children, we were helped to wash our hands before each meal.

So our heavenly Father will wash us and feed us. Another argument against weekly communion is evangelistic. They might be confused by it. The early church used to dismiss seekers before the communion.

They would allow outsiders to hear the word read and preached, and some of the prayers. But they dismissed everyone except baptized believers before the communion. Keep in mind that these seekers and catechumens were being offered small group classes that explained Christian beliefs and told them what the Eucharist was about.

This was no secret society. In a way, we still do this today. We then are able to offer a blessing to all who will not be receiving. Adults take classes before baptism , and children who are baptized later take confirmation classes. Eating and drinking are fundamental parts of human life.

Explaining what we are doing and why is a chance to share the gospel. Paul even said that we are proclaiming the Gospel every time we take the bread and cup I Corinthians It may only add a few minutes overall. But, in terms of our witness, it adds an invitation to receive Christ himself. First, Jesus rose again on Sunday, the first day of the week. Denominations with a less liturgical structure often do not celebrate Communion weekly. There are a number of denominations in which individual congregations are allowed to decide for themselves how often to celebrate Communion.

The United Methodist Church states that "communion may be celebrated as often as desired. The International Pentecostal Holiness Church requires it at least once per year. Many other independent churches, not affiliated with a particular denomination, may choose to celebrate Communion weekly. In addition to varying viewpoints on how often Communion should be celebrated, there are varying views on exactly what happens during Communion, and how Christ is present with believers through the sacrament.

Dolores Smyth Crosswalk. Christ told His disciples to repeat this ceremony in remembrance of Him Luke ; 1 Corinthians Disagreement and the Life of the Church. Today on Christianity.

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