Can someone explain Communion to me ?

[nikkie]

Thats it, thanks

it represents the body of christ and is taken during mass

Isnt the crucial bit that it actually changes into the blood and body of christ, which is one of the main defferences of the Catholic and COE faith. Im trying to think back to my RE A level, its transubstantiation or something. Im sure someone with a better knowledge of things can confirm.

Yes you eat BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD adn BODIESSSSSSSSSSSSS

Mmmmm I think I prefer a sunday morning trip to Ikea then.

It's one of the few things that Jesus actually said his followers should do in order to remember Him and his death.

He said we should so it every time a group of believers meet together to worship. sO our church has a time set aside for communion every sunday to specifically remember Jesus' death and resurrection.

In our church someone reads a passage from the Bible and prays then we pass around some bread on a plate and some Rocks organic blackcurrant in little individual glasses and eat and drink in relative peace and quiet.

I've also had communion in the back of a car with friends using Irn Bru and crisps - I guess it's as much of an equivalent really.

Sometimes it can be really moving and I'll be tearful and choked, other times it's just a great reminder of how much I believe Christ did for me and it's a chance for me not to take it for granted.

I'm not a great lover of rites and rituals and it took me a while to get my head round why we even needed such a formal way of remembering how our salvation came about, but I now see that the formality varies from church to church and Im very content and comfortable with the relaxed, simple and thoughtful way we do it in our (Baptist) church. I would be very uncomfortable in an Anglicn communion service for example where I would have to leave my seat and be given the bread and wine - not very "authentic" last supper IMO.

But I 'm sure that's meaningful for others here.

Kezza tyou're right, Catholics believe in transubstantiation, where it changes.

Ecept our CofW Vicar believes in Transubstantiation- ie he thinks he's a catholic? Eh?

Was at Church parade this am and it was communion and I didn't have a clue dd2 kept asking questions .Kids all got a choc button though!

If you look up "the Last Supper", either in a bible, or on the internet, then that is when Jesus said "do this in memory of me".

Effectively that's what its all about, whatever you believe about what actually happens in a communion service/Eucharist/Mass.

There are 3 main views on what communion is:-

a) it is a simple act of remembrance where Christians share bread and wine or something similar to remember the death and sacrifice of Christ. The bread represent the body of Christ and the wine represents his blood. Effectively the communion service acts out part of the Last Supper which happneed prior to Jesus' arrest;

b) it is a sacrament, and that through particpating in communion we receive an impartation of grace. So as we take communion in obedience to what God has commanded we in turn enjoy a deeper relationship with him;

c) during communion the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus and we are actively participating in the sacrifice. (This is typically seen as a distinctive belief within Roman Catholicisim, but is ahred by some Anglicans)

I understand that any of these views are acceptable within the Church of England, and in fact the communion service is worded very carefully to allow any of these 3 interpretations.

The Baptist church that I sometimes go to gives all the children grapes as they are the promise of 'new wine' which is rather nice.

Communion is really important to me. The words that were used by a vicar we had for a long time were so good - "May this bread, and this wine, be to us all that our Saviour intended it to be". How's that for a great CofE cop-out?!? But lovely too...

Also, the actual word 'communion' means 'union together with' and obviously it's linked to words like 'community'. So I see communion as a statement of togetherness, both with CHrist and with the church, that whatever our differences we have this one thing that unites us and keeps us together as a wonderful worldwide family, the faith in the death and resuurection of Jesus, and the faith that through him we can know God and be forgiven and free.

Also the other word for it is Eucharist, which is Greek and it means 'good gift' or 'good grace'. So the thinking there is that sharing bread and wine is a gift that God gives the church, to help us remember and understand all that He has done for us.

"A picture says a thousand words" or whatever the cliche is, and comminion is such a visual, sensory, active thing that I think it touches deep within us whereas the words of a sermon might go over our heads some weeks! Altho everyone's different, obviously...

(This is why I actually much prefer the CofE way, Bobsmum, because I see the getting out of my seat and going forward to receive communion as an active decision on my part, a response to God, me choosing to stand before him as a really important statement of my faith - anyway horses for courses! ).

I like the Freeze Frame Mass (online book, pdf file). I think the author is Anglican. Don't know what exactly you want to understand about it, what's interesting or confusing you. If you want to understand what lies behind all the clothing, movements, words etc and what mass is all about (including communion) obviously, I find it easy to read:

ExplainingMass

I've just had a look and I agree that Freeze Frame Mass is extremely interesting (if large, be warned if you click on it, its a 186 page PDF document). I would probably describe the author as Anglocatholic, as "Anglican" covers a wide range of sins .

HOWEVER it stops at the Gospel, and so doesn't go on to cover communion (unless I've done something wrong...)