Delegates approve document on Holy Communion
By Linda Green*
PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - What do United Methodists want from Holy Communion?
The answer to that question, and to many others about the ritual and
theology of Holy Communion, is found in "This Holy Mystery: A United
Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion," approved May 7 as the
denomination's official, interpretive statement on the sacrament.
The document, the product of a 19-member task force of the United
Methodist Board of Discipleship, is also intended to help the church be in
accord with ecumenical movements in sacramental theology and practice. The
16-page paper clarifies United Methodist Holy Communion tradition,
theology and practice for local churches.
Delegates approved a resolution requesting the development of teaching
resources that could be used with the document, and that churchwide
agencies provide print and electronic resources for United Methodists on
celebrating the Eucharist. The church also recommended "This Holy Mystery"
as a resource for congregations to use with the communion services in the
United Methodist Hymnal and the United Methodist Book of Worship.
The resource emphasizes that when people come to the table, they are not
simply remembering something Jesus did 2,000 years ago, said the Rev.
Gayle Felton, author of the document.
"When we come," she said, "we encounter and experience something that is
happening then and there. We are not exercising recall."
*Green is a staff writer for United Methodist News Service
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