Come To
The Welcome Table
A guide for preparing
children
to participate in
Holy Communion
Holy Communion at Temple Lutheran
Church is offered to all baptized Christians, regardless of age or catechetical
preparation. Parents are invited to
discern with their children an appropriate age to begin their participation in
Holy Communion. The Pastor and
congregation will offer all needed support for this discernment process.
Below are a
list of questions that may be helpful to you during this important process.
At what
age should my child begin participating in Holy Communion?
This is a question many parents ask as they strive
to raise their children in the church. Once we are baptized, regardless of our
age, we are initiated into God’s Church and welcome to receive Holy Communion.
Once a child is born into God’s family, that child is welcome to participate in
Holy Communion. This represents a change for many of us as parents that may
have had to wait until Confirmation or other instructional opportunities before
receiving Holy Communion for the first time.
The decision to begin receiving Holy Communion is a decision to be made
by parents along with their child.
Parents should expect, and are freely offered, ample support from the
congregation and pastor in making this important decision.
How will
I know when my child is ready?
The
Lutheran answer to the question of “readiness” is as simple as this: God
is ready for us! God longs for
us. God seeks after us. At God’s Welcome Table, we receive the real presence
of Christ, we receive forgiveness, we are empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to
experience “new life.” God’s table is the birthright of the baptized.
Beginning
at birth, children come to the communion rail every Sunday. At some point
they begin to show interest in receiving Holy Communion. They hold out
their hands for the bread, like those around them. Or they will begin to
ask questions like: “Why can’t I have some ‘Jesus read’?” When they
do this, children are telling us that they already know something very
important about this holy meal. They understand that to eat the bread and
drink the wine means that they are a part of God’s family. It is only
natural that they do not wish to be excluded from such an important event. Their desire presents an opportunity to
discuss Holy Communion with them.
Has your child asked about Holy Communion? Have you asked
your child if he/she wants Holy Communion? Does your child watch what you do at
the communion rail and, perhaps, imitate your actions? Has your child put
his/her hands out to receive? These are good signs that your child is ready.
How should I instruct my child when he/she begins to show
signs of interest in Holy Communion?
How
we learn and understand things changes throughout our development. As we
grow in years, maturity and life experiences, our understanding of Holy
Communion deepens and changes. God calls us to teach children (and people
of all ages) on a level that they can understand.
When
you sense a desire for Holy Communion (from your child or within yourself),
talk to your child about it. Explain that Holy Communion is a very
special time for our church family. When we eat the bread and drink the
wine we know that Jesus is very near. Explaining what Holy Communion
means should not be done just once, but on a regular basis. Family meal
times might be a good time to talk about what Holy Communion means.
Parents and older brothers and sisters can offer their own insights.
Children should be encouraged to tell you what they think about Communion as
well. Here are some conversation
starters to help you in instructing your child:
·
Holy Communion is
a celebration of Jesus’ love.
At the communion rail we remember Jesus’ love.
During Communion, God feeds us with God’s love.
·
Parents provide food
for us because they love us. God feeds us with this special food to
remind us that God loves us.
·
Eating together is a
pleasant family time. We eat this special meal to remember that we
are all a part of God’s family.
·
The food we eat at home
helps our bodies to grow and give us energy. This special food
helps us to grow in faith and gives us energy to do the good things that Jesus
wants us to do.
·
When we misbehave, our
parents become angry with us. It feels good to be hugged and reminded that
our parents still love us. Holy Communion is a reminder that God
forgives us any wrong that we have done. Like a hug, it tells us
that God loves us and always will.
·
When we receive Holy
Communion, we remember that Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. He shares this life with us each time we
receive Holy Communion. This is why we say that we eat his body and drink
his blood: because he gives us his
life!
What
other ways will my child learn about Holy Communion?
First
and foremost, children learn from attending worship. At worship, they can see
and be a part of the service and begin to understand what they are seeing,
hearing, and saying. Additionally, from your actions and discussions with your
child, he/she sees that Holy Communion is important and that participating in
Holy Communion is something you do on a regular basis. Children recognize your
reverence at the altar from your body language. For them to imitate you and
your actions indicates that they have some understanding of Holy Communion’s
importance. This is evident in the youngest of our children, even before they
have had any formal Christian education.
As they grow in their faith, your child receives formal education about Holy
Communion in several important ways including Sunday School classes, Holy
Communion classes, Confirmation Classes, sermons, and retreats. These opportunities strive to increase their
knowledge and understanding, using the foundation that you as a parent have
laid. If you feel that your child might
not receive adequate education about Holy Communion from you, don’t worry: attending church and actively participating
will provide your child with many opportunities to grow in their understanding
of Holy Communion.
Please note: Formal preparation is an important part of
learning about Holy Communion that everyone is encouraged and expected to
participate in. It is NOT, however, a
requirement for receiving Holy Communion.
Every baptized Christian is called to learn throughout life.
What
help is available for parents?
Our
congregation has promised to be an active partner in the lifelong faith
formation of every member. Helpful
resources will be made readily available to assist families in the task of
discernment. Parents are encouraged to
seek support from one another and from other members of the congregation. This is a wonderful conversation to include
others in as we grow in faith together!
The pastor will also gladly offer assistance to any family discerning
this important matter. Your own active
participation in worship and adult faith formation programs (such as Sunday
School and Bible Study/Spiritual Formation events) is also a valuable source of
assistance.
How can we make our
child’s first Holy Communion special?
Your
child is welcome to begin receiving Holy Communion at any time. You may, however, want to mark their first
Holy Communion with a special event. It
may also be helpful to structure your discernment process around a particular
schedule. For these reasons, Temple
Lutheran Church will host an annual “First Communion Sunday” during the season
of Easter. This event will always be
preceded with age appropriate Holy Communion classes and formal preparation for
the event.
Please note: these classes are NOT required prior to
receiving Holy Communion. Children who
begin receiving Holy Communion at other times during the year will also be
invited to attend these classes and be recognized on “First Holy Communion
Sunday”. Even if it is not the very
first time they have received Holy Communion, it is still reason for our family
of faith to celebrate with them!
What does our Lutheran denomination have to say about Holy
Communion?
Our
denomination (The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America) includes the following in the doctrinal statement The Use of the
Means of Grace (1997):
·
“Admission to
the sacrament is by invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to
those who are baptized.”
·
“In
all cases, participation in Holy Communion is accompanied by catechesis
appropriate to the age of the communicant.
When infants and young children are communed, the parents and sponsors
receive instruction and the children are taught throughout their development.”
·
“Catechesis,
continuing throughout the life of the believer, emphasizes the sacrament as
gift, given to faith by and for participation in the community. Such faith is not simply intellectual
understanding but trust in God’s promises given in the Lord’s Supper”
·
“There
is no command from our Lord regarding the age at which people should be
baptized or first communed.”
·
“The
members of this church are encouraged to make the sacrament a frequent rather
than an occasional part of their lives.”
Making
Communion open to all who are baptized makes a strong witness to what we, as
Lutherans, believe about God’s grace. We believe that the gifts we
receive in Holy Communion are given freely by God. That is, that God
doesn’t demand that we earn or deserve them as the “price of admission”. They are gifts to which God calls us as
God’s people. God meets each of us
where we are and brings us to where God wants us to be. All God asks is
that we believe that these gifts are “for us.”
Communing
younger children is Biblically sound, faithful to our Lutheran heritage, and
clearly expresses the heart of the Gospel: the love of God given to all of us
freely in Christ. It is an important
way that we live out our mission together:
To know Christ & make Christ known.
Jesus,
our host at the table, told the disciples:
“Let the children come to me and do not stop them,
because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
[Mark 10:15]
If
the kingdom belongs to them, it is right that they share the meal of the
kingdom!
If
you have any questions or concerns about preparing for or receiving Holy
Communion, you are encouraged to share them with the pastor and other members
of Temple Lutheran Church. The pastor
can be reached via email at pastor@templelutheran.org.
