Collect for World Communion Sunday. God of love, like a loving mother who has prepared a wonderful meal, you call all of your children to your table, to share together, to be at peace with each other, to tell our stories, to nourish one another, and most of all to feast on your grace. Feed us with your Word, that we may truly be children of God. Amen.
On October 1, congregations around the globe will celebrate World Communion Sunday. Most of us have heard about World Communion Sunday but may not know much about where the celebration originated. According to the website of the National Council of Churches, World Communion Sunday began in 1936 in the Presbyterian Church and was adopted by the Federal Council of Churches in 1940. Since then, the celebration has grown into an international ecumenical celebration of Christian unity.
The key word for World Communion Sunday is communion, or unity. It is a day when we mark the almost universal Christian practice of breaking bread with one another and remembering both the night of Jesus’ betrayal—when Jesus instituted what we now call the Lord’s Supper as a lasting remembrance—and of Jesus’ sacrifice. So, accounts of the last supper feature prominently, by virtue of World Communion Sunday being a celebration of the Eucharist. But there is a flavor of the Christian celebration of Pentecost as well, when people from around the world came together in mutual understanding and inspiration, by the power of the Holy Spirit. World Communion Sunday is a time for remembering that around the globe—in different languages, with different traditions and customs, and in various forms of liturgy—the Lord’s Supper is celebrated throughout Christendom. At its best, therefore, World Communion Sunday serves two purposes: it is both a joyous and meaningful partaking in Jesus’ sacred meal with his friends and a mind-opening exposure to different Christian traditions from around the world.
Let us Pray: God of all Creation, we gather at your table with your children of every nation. We thank you for your loving presence, for your Church across the globe and for the Spirit that unites us. As we listen, our sisters and brothers around the world are listening in uncounted languages. May we all hear your Word, hear your love, in the Spirit of Christ. Make us one, Love; make us one. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 