World Communion Sunday
As we celebrate World Communion with Nuru Yake (ministry partners in Kenya), they will be breaking “chapati.” What form of bread will you prepare to use to celebrate communion this week?
History
World Communion Sunday is a practice shared by many churches and many denominations that started in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1933, Dr. Hugh Thomspon Kerr, the pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, established this celebration as a way to bring the churches in his community together in a service of unity, celebrating the “interconnectedness” of the body of Christ.
In a conversation with Presbyterian Outlook, Kerr described the growing celebration saying, “It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because we were trying to hold the world together. World Communion symbolized the effort to hold things together in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are one in the Spirit and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” In 1936 World Communion Sunday was adopted as a denominational practice of the PCUSA, and by 1940 it spread to many denominations and around the world.
Relevance
Today it also feels like “we are trying to hold the world together.” While we are not in the midst of a world war, a similar sort of hatred, greed, anger, and despair characterizes many of our local, national, and international relationships. If you are tired of “trying to hold the world together,” I hope you will join us on Sunday to taste and see what God has done for us through Jesus Christ – and the community (that is, the body of Christ) all over the world.
Our Celebration
To celebrate World Communion Sunday, this year we have a few fun things:
1. This Sunday we will be joined by ministry partners at Nuru Yake. Nuru Yake is an organization in Ongata Rongai, Kenya led by Linda & Geoff Simpson that trains local leaders to share the light of God’s love in their community. Much like Student Pastor Katie, Geoff, Linda, John and Joyce (two local leaders) will be leading parts of worship over ZOOM. If you choose to gather with us over ZOOM, they will be on your screen, and if you gather outside at Charlie’s their voices will come to us through the speakers!
2. We will be celebrating communion. In honor of World Communion, everyone is invited to prepare elements (bread & water/juice) that in some way reflects your community of origin or ethnic identity. If you are gathering with us on the grass, please don’t forget to take your elements to Charlie’s with you!
3. The celebration extends into our Wisdom and Wonder hour, which is now at 7pm on Sunday nights. This week we will be learning more about the ways that food helps us understand the relationship between our ethnic identities and faith. This class will be taught by Holley Barreto (who uses HPCs kitchen to run her baking business Sugarstreet Bakehouse) and Dr. Eric Barreto (Holley’s husband and New Testament Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary). BONUS: To learn more about the sweet treats that Holley cooks up in the kitchen, click here.