If you were at one of the services at PCC on Sunday, you know we did things a little differently than normal. It is our tradition at Parkview to receive communion on the first Sunday of the month- which was the case on Sunday. Typically there are volunteers who pass the communion elements throughout the auditorium. On Sunday we invited folks to come forward to receive the elements. First we took a piece of bread from a volunteer, dipped it in the cup that another volunteer was holding and then ate the now-moist piece of bread. When we took the bread the volunteer said, “Remember the body of Christ, broken for you.” And when we dipped the bread in the juice we were told, “Remember the blood of Christ, shed for you.”

Sitting on the front row with my head bowed during communion I was able to hear the volunteers repeating these phrases to each person who came forward. Remember the body. Remember the blood. Broken for you. Shed for you. It was powerful to hear these simple words said over and over again.

I heard a couple of folks mention after the service that receiving communion this way reminded them of attending a Catholic service. Another friend told us that it reminded him of his Methodist background. Someone else said this is the way they take communion in the Lutheran church. A few weeks ago Maggie and I attended a community church that also celebrated communion in this manner.

Obviously we were not trying to be original by doing communion differently than normal. Our purpose rather was to change things up enough that we might catch a fresh glimpse of the significance behind what we do when we take the communion elements. Hopefully that was the case.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this unique service possible. Anytime we deviate from our routine it means extra work for the volunteers who take our ideas and bring them to life. But the only thing I heard from those involved in making things happen was how glad they were to be a part of that. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that!