In many cases I will
present the certificate at the next Family Service after the
baptism. However, if this is a long way off, or if you can’t
make the third Sunday of the month, I will give you the certificate
in the course of one of our communion services which we hold
on the other Sundays in the month.
There are separate activities for the children in the first
part of these services. We then all come together to celebrate
God’s presence amongst us and his love shown towards
us through the communion meal. This reminds us of:
* the meals that Jesus shared with his
friends, making all
feel valued and
welcome;
* the miracle of the feeding of the five
thousand and the way
Jesus sustains us
with the spiritual food we need on our
journey
through life;
* the Passover Supper and Jesus’ death on
the cross which
has rescued us from all
that is evil;
* the meals that Jesus shared with his
disciples after his
resurrection, with the
assurance of life after death and the
promise of his presence with us whenever
we meet in his name;
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* the heavenly banquet with all the saints
that awaits us.
In the church’s tradition, receiving communion follows
on from confirmation, and if you have not been confirmed already,
I warmly encourage you to join the next Confirmation Group
(we run a group each year). In the meantime you are invited
to join other members of the Church Family to come to the front
to receive a blessing.
There is one other aspect of the communion service that may need explaining.
Halfway through the service we “share the peace.”
This is a symbolic
gesture to express our support and care for other another, so we shake hands
with the people next to us saying, “Peace be with you.” If you don’t
know the names of the people next to you, it is a good opportunity to get to
know them!
Then you can follow up this introduction by chatting over coffee after
the service.
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