In your church do you have to be baptised to tak communion?

[roisin]

And what church is it?

We go to a Baptist Church; you don't have to be baptised to take communion.

I thought in CofE and Catholic you had to be confirmed to take Communion. And for confirmation, you had to be baptised.

However, I'm not a churchgoer, so I may be wrong.

At our last church (high CofE) you had to have been confirmed (if christened/baptised as a child) or baptised as an adult.

Our current church is a congregational church and we practise believers baptisms. However, as far as I can tell anyone who is comfortable with it can take communion. (It is non-alcoholic Ribena as in Methodist churches.)

It's more about the 'communion' sense of it that's important I think. But it's a different tradition to what I've been brought up in so I can't explain the ins and outs of it I'm afraid!

In the Catholic church, you have to have been baptised to take communion but you don't need to have been confirmed. You usually take your First Holy Communion at around 7-8, then get confirmed at 13-14.

In the catholic church you have to have been baptised and made your first holy communion, which involves a course of preparation. Non-catholics can't take communion. But anyone can go up for a blessing.

Obviously they don't ask to see your paperwork, so they rely on people's conscience. But it would def be frowned upon if it came out that someone had been taking communion who was not a catholic. Strictly speaking divorced and remarried Catholics aren't allowed to take communion either, though many priests will turn a blind eye.

If you're a regular in my church, you're expected to be baptised before starting to take communion, but you don't have to be confirmed. But if you're a visitor from another denomination, then it's fine to take communion if you would in your own church.
Thats the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is part of the Anglican Communion.

I think the big differences will be between denominations which only have adult believers baptism, and those which have infant baptism - it's more reasonable to expect people to be baptised if it doesn't need as much of an adult committment and understanding.

So, my ds2 (13) does have a faith, but has not chosen to be baptised yet. In our church he would still be considered very young to be baptised. At our church he takes communion.

He has close links with Anglican churches, often Anglo catholic tradition, through his interest in pipe organs and church music. It would not occur to him not to take communion in a Eucharist service.

Do you think this is wrong? Should he speak to the vicar or priest first?

Yes, I think he should speak to the vicar.

Catholic churches would definitely frown on a non Catholic taking communion.

Low CofE - baptism expected for communion; teenagers should be confirmed as well.

In practice, we invite any adult who loves the Lord to share in the Lord's Supper.

We don't admit children unless they have previously take HC at another church.

Pretty standard Anglican position, I think.

Anglo-catholic churches often have a younger confirmation, so your DS won't appear too young. If they invite those who take communion in their home churches, then your DS would be fine.

They are not Roman Catholic churches. From the "welcome" to the table, I know they are happy for members from other churches to take communion. But I've never heard specific mention of baptism ... Probably because they just assume that everyone is baptised.

I would say an open welcome to members of other churches would include him as so many churches now don't baptise till adulthood.

We are members of a baptist church too. Older dcs (11+) are present in the communion service and are allowed to participate if they wish to, even though they have not yet been baptised. Have seen 16 year olds having adult baptism but not younger dcs. However there are some adult members who have been brought up in other church traditions e.g. C of E /Methodist and infant baptism + confirmation is seen as equivalent to adult baptism for church membership purposes.
dd who is 12 goes to a C of E secondary school and they are happy for all children to take communion at school services whether or not they have been confirmed or baptised.

From my understanding of practising at a 'high' Anglo-Catholic church, you need to have been confirmed before taking communion. Therefore, at some point, one must have been baptised and subsequently confirmed prior to taking body and blood of Christ.

Not sure what age they get confirmed in our church - I think around aged fourteen.

Roisin your church sounds very much like mine in its stance i.e. our children do take communion (but as I said it's non-alcoholic) and we would expect them to be very sure in their faith before being baptised at that age.

If he is secure in his faith and noone has challenged him then I would allow him to continue to take communion at those other churches. Otherwise he is going to be disappointed/hurt that he isn't allowed because his faith is deemed somewhat lesser than someone else (and in Anglican churches it may be that there are children younger than him taking communion - in the CofE churches I have attended in the past most children are confirmed in the last year of primary school) or else he will have to have conversations that may be confusing about why one Christian stream thinks one thing and another church another.

Although saying all that, he is 13 and perhaps now is the time for him to be learning about different types of christianity anyway - but I would discuss it with him first and then perhaps see the vicar of the Anglican church together.

Love the fact he's into church/organ music btw :)

Since the "welcome" mentions people from other churches being welcome to take communion, and your son is a member of your own church (which he is if he's taking communion there) then I'd say he was included in that without you needing to clarify it with anyone. I assume the "welcome" doesn't say anything like "baptised members of other churches" which they could do if they wanted to be awkward specific about it.

In all honesty, if he goes up to the altar confidently then I doubt anyone is going to ask him "20 Questions" about his exact status, since he's reached an age where they will most likely assume he's done whatever is "the norm" in his own church, which he has done. So I'd leave him to it and not worry him or anyone else about the details - after all, it's about what God thinks about his status that is important, not specific vicars.

CoS, so not really relevant. We don't really allow kids to take communion. We invite anyone who loves the Lord even just a little, but it's understood to be adults. Probably about 16 would be the youngest age for communion, but that's also about the youngest age for joining the church, anyway, which is a separate thing to baptism.

At our church (middle of the road c of e) then c of e would need to be baptised and old enough to have at least a basic understanding of what communion is and visitors are welcome to take communion if it is their custom at their church.

I'm a Methodist - "anyone who loves the Lord is welcome at his table" is what it says in one of our communion services.
Certainly folk from other denominations are welcome, and also children though I don't agree with this on a personal level, so you certainly don't have to have been baptised or confirmed in the official view though not mine.

We are Anglican - Anglo catholic.

The policy we have is you are confirmed then you can take communion - though at some stage i think the path of first communion will be taken - tis a very political issue it seems and raises high emotions.

However - the notice on the screen at the start of communion suggests that if you take communion in any other denomination you are welcome to do so here. Which i think covers a lot of bases.

I am the wierdy vicar's wife who isn't even baptised though so am an oddball in the situation

We're fairly low CofE.

The invitation is to anyone who loves the Lord etc, but any regular would be encouraged to be baptised/confirmed.

Children are admitted to communion, either at the parents wish or at age 7 they are able to do an admission to communion course if they want to, this would be expected to be followed up in a few years by confirmation.

I'm very low in my sacramental theology but see baptism/confirmation as a sign of God's grace, and certainly don't see there should be any age limit on taking communion. But I know many would disagree with me on such heinous beliefs

Hi madhair.

Thanks all: that's really helpful and puts my mind at rest that his taking communion is not unreasonable.

There is a possibility that he will come regularly to a particular church next year, which is high, and if he does, I'll get him to chat to the vicar, or I will about it.

My C of E church has recently allowed children who are baptised but not confirmed to take communion. The vicar even offered bread to my 2 year old DS which I don't agree with and have now asked that he is only blessed until old enough to be confirmed.

Catholic church, it is UR, you do have to be baptised specifically into the catholic church, or if you can't (because you are baptised in another church) you have to be officially welcomed following a course plus ceremony at easter before you can take communion. (I think in those cases they roll 1st communion and confirmation into the ceremony). Children who have made !st communion but not yet confirmed can take communion

Madhairday, I'm very high innmy sacramental theology, and for that very reason, I completely agree with children receiving the Eucharist! :) My thinking is that none of us, however well educated, understands what is going on in the Eucharist - it's too mind-Blowingly amazing to fit into our conceptual frameworks - so the only valid response is to receive it, rather than analysing it. Which children are usually better at doing than adults! :) the words that we use in the Eucharistic services are just a wonderful invitation to receive.

Must confess, my views have been coloured by my ds's indignation at her sense of exclusion from the Eucharist (she is 10 and baptised but not yet confirmed). :(