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From Behind the Communion Table

Over the past 10 years of pastoral ministry I have had the privilege to sit behind several Communion Tables. To preside at the Lord’s Supper is, I think, one of the most extraordinary things a minister can lead for her congregation. In lifting and break the bread and lifting and pouring the cup, reminding all who are gathered what Christ did for each of them, a minister is given the opportunity to look out into the heart of the congregation.

In those moments after the Elders have distributed the trays to the Diaconate (in my tradition we pass trays filled with pieces of bread and cups of juice) I have been given the special opportunity to look everyone participating in worship. Over the years I have seen couples holding hands, children kneeling on the floor coloring a page from worship totes, mothers and grandmothers holding new babies, and others siting like statues eyes closed deep in prayer…or maybe they are asleep.

I don’t watch the congregation in a creepy “I’m watching you” kind of way. In fact I rarely make eye contact because I don’t want them to feel like they have to sit like stone statues. From behind the Communion table I am humbled that I get to see the moments that so many miss, even when they are happening to them. Those moments of peace and grace that wash over a parishioners face as they enter into an openness with God, moments when couples cling to one another so they might experience God’s love together, moments when mamma’s and their babies (no matter the age of the baby) hug and cuddle up together in the pew because it just feels like the right time to be so close. These moments are beautiful and I often can’t help but smile.

I count myself blessed as a minister to be part of the sacred moments that happen during the time of Communion and the Lord’s Supper. It is a welcomed relief to see God’s presence moving in the congregation, especially on the Sunday’s following an unpleasant week in the life of ministry. The moments I am fortunate enough to see from behind the Communion Table strengthen me for the week to come, sustain me for the years ahead, and remind me of the work God is doing in the here and now.

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  1. lorrigrubbMarch 23, 2014 at 3:21 PM

    Thank you for sharing your unique perspective, Pastor Andrea! You are such a blessing to our church family and the entire community!

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