This Bread and This Cup Leaders Guide

Episcopal Communion study

Mary Lee Wile

• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Year: 2005
• Print ISBN: 9781931960366
• eBook ISBN: 9781606741801
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Rituals & Practice

Whether you have a small group or a larger one, whether you want to structure the program in 2 sessions or 5, whether the children in your group are all the same age or not, you'll have all the tools you need to customize a Communion instruction program that's just right for your parish with these rich, adaptable resources.This Leader's Guide is a comprehensive resource for clergy and lay people offering:

Background information on theology, leader reflection, goals, overview and materials lists

• Ways to invite children to participate more fully in the eucharistic service
• Explanations of what we do and say at Eucharist
• Prayers, activities and scripture stories
• Reproducible handouts to send home

This Bread and This Cup is a program for children and their families. The intended age is 6-9 but younger works too in the program. The Child's Book assumes the child can read, or it is used with a parent who does the reading.

This invaluable new resource brings greater understanding and meaning to a key aspect of Christian formation: Holy Communion. With solid information, including a brief history of children at the Eucharist, current theological perspectives and practices and flexible, user-friendly sessions, leaders will find that this program fits a wide variety of parish needs.

Session Four: Praying Together: The Shape of the Eucharist

Note: This session can be divided in two parts, breaking between “The Service of the Word” and “The Holy Communion.”

Some historical background on the Eucharist (this is reprinted in the Parent Pages for this session).

“Anglicans are people of the book,” writes Jeffrey Lee. “The words and forms of The Book of Common Prayer define our identity perhaps to a degree not true of any other church.” What is also true, however, is that everything in the prayer book is anchored in Scripture, history, or tradition.

The service of the Eucharist itself is divided in two parts: The Word of God and The Holy Communion. The first part of the service is rooted in the Jewish synagogue where for 3000 years Scripture has been read and considered as it connects to current realities. The gospels tell of Jesus reading and interpreting Scripture in the synagogues of his own day.

The Collect for Purity, which is based on psalm 51, has its origin in ancient Jewish worship as well, although its current form dates from the eleventh century. Since the second century, prayers for the church and for the world (what we call The Prayers of the People) have come after the readings and the sermon. Because most people were illiterate, they learned a common response to each petition. Look through the various forms of our Prayers of the People, beginning on page 383, and note how many forms still have common responses; these allow even young pre-readers to participate.

The absolution in Rite II on page 360 comes in part from the 1549 prayer book. The last part of the service of the Word is the exchange of the Peace. With its origin in the earliest records of the church, it fell out of use among all but clergy during the late Middle Ages. The church in South India was the first in recent times to restore it to the laity, and the practice spread throughout the Church. This is one more way the Church is reclaiming practices from the
earliest times and weaving them into our contemporary patterns of worship.

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, only after we have heard Scripture read and interpreted are we ready for the breaking of the bread. Holy Communion, the second part of the service, draws Christians together to give thanks and to remember. “To know who you are,” writes Marion Hatchett, “to whom you belong, and where you are headed, you must remember.” This is a special kind of remembering called anamnesis, the recalling of something with such vivid intensity that we bring the past moment into present reality. For a Jew, this means seeing oneself as having endured the Exodus, crossed the Red Sea, and entered the Promised Land. For Christians, Communion brings Jesus’ presence among us now. Graeme Mundin, Chairperson of the Aboriginal Council in Australia, connects the aboriginal concept of “dreaming” with this anamnesis: “dreaming is something from the past that is brought to life now in ceremony and which leads into the future.” The ceremony of the Eucharist, for example, through the intense remembrance of anamnesis, not only brings Christ among us now, but also provides a foretaste of our future at the heavenly banquet.

In the prayer of consecration, the priest not only consecrates the bread and wine, but asks the Holy Spirit to sanctify us, too: “Sanctify [these gifts] to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace…” (363). Taking Communion should make us holy people, ready to serve as God calls us.

The Great Amen, which the children wrote into their booklets, dates back to the middle of the second century; it’s the only “AMEN” in the prayer book that’s written in all capital letters.

The Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught to his disciples, has since the fourth century been part of the Eucharist; its current placement, after the consecration but before people receive Communion, comes from the sixth century. The basic words of administration, “The Body of Christ” and “The Blood of Christ,” also date back to ancient times.

Even the very end of the service has ancient origins. The blessing goes all the way back to Aaron’s blessing recorded in Numbers 6:24-26; it was adapted for inclusion in the 1549 prayer book. The dismissal which had been part of the early church “fell out of favor,” as Robson puts it, but it was restored in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

Whenever we take part in the Eucharist, we bring the past into present reality, and we foresee our future with God in Christ. It may all sound like a complex history lesson, but what it simply means is that when we reach out our hands for the bread and the cup, Jesus is there with us when we receive. As Jerome Berryman says: “Jesus is with us in the bread and wine and we are all together, all over the world, and with all who have lived and died in the huge family of families called the Church.”

Session at a Glance:

Gather and light candle

Share quieting prayer

Compose a collect

Explore the basic outline of the Eucharist

Closing prayer

Materials:

big candle, matches

newsprint (or blackboard)

pens, pencils, markers

glue and glitter for angels (if you meet regularly in the sanctuary, also bring a sheet to spread on the floor so the glitter doesn’t get all over….) extra prayer books for parents to use

Planning ahead:

Photocopy the Parent Pages

Remind the children to be sure to bring their booklets and their prayer books to this session (the church undoubtedly has plenty, but it’s nice for the children to use their own)

The day of the session:

Gather the extra prayer books

Set up the space where the class will meet

Put the big candle in a highly visible place

Arrange chairs in a circle (unless you decide to meet in the sanctuary)

Before beginning:

Try to arrive early enough to have some time alone before others arrive. Offer the following prayer:

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Know that God rejoices in your willing heart as you continue this Communion instruction program. Be tender to yourself and to your own needs as you serve the needs of others. Let God’s peace rest on your heart.

THE SESSION

Greet children and adults as they arrive.

Once everyone has arrived, gather in a circle. Ask everyone to be silent while you light the candle, and then offer a quiet prayer, either of your own, or perhaps the following:

Lord Jesus, stay with us [for evening is at hand and the day is past] [this day, this season, and always]; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.

This particular session is going to move back and forth between the prayer book and the children’s booklets. Pass out the extra prayer books to the adults, and to any children who have forgotten to bring theirs. Invite them to open the prayer books to whichever Rite is more familiar to the group, either page 323 or 355. Have them note that the first part of the service is called “The Word of God.” Ask if anyone knows which opening statement is being read now in church, which season you’re currently in; read (and bid their response) to the current one.

Invite children to follow along as you read from their booklets for Session Four:

Different churches use different forms to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, but each form follows a pattern. Usually we begin with a hymn, a song to God. The very first prayer is called a “collect” because it collects or gathers the people from whatever else they might be thinking about. Collects always begin by calling on God. The Collect for Purity at the beginning of the Eucharist calls God “Almighty.” What are some other ways that people name God?

The class is actually going to compose a collect. Take time here to write their answers on the newsprint or board. If no one can think of a name for God, ask how the Lord’s Prayer begins (“Our Father”). You might suggest that people skim pages 828-835 just to see how God is addressed in those prayers, and to think of the attributes—characteristics—that various collects assign to God: the author of peace, King eternal, merciful, the source of eternal light….

Their booklet goes on to say, “A collect then asks God to do something for us. The Collect for Purity asks God to help us be ready for worship. What are some things you would like to ask God to do?”

Write down their responses. If no one volunteers at first, write down one of your own, such as “Help us to know you and love you,” “Help us to know Jesus better,” “Help my mother to feel better soon,” “Help me to be more patient.” Write down even prayers that might seem inappropriate, such as wanting to get a new toy or to win a sporting event—the psalms are full of such human longings. Remember the prayer where we ask God to fulfill our desires “as may be best for us,” and trust God.

Their booklet then says that collects end in the name of Jesus. Ask what closing they would like, and write it down. Tell them that they have just composed a collect of their own, which they may copy all or part of in their booklets. (You should write it down, too, and consider using it to end today’s session, and/or to include in the Eucharist you will share later.)

Their booklets go on to say, “After the opening collect, we sing or say a hymn of praise, and then the priest prays a special collect just for that day. When the prayer is over, we sit down to listen to readings from the Bible. We stand up again to hear the gospel, because that’s the story about Jesus.” Ask them to stand up and name their favorite stories about Jesus, and what they like about those stories.

After the gospel is read, everyone sits down again to listen to the sermon, “where the priest or deacon helps explain how Jesus’ story connects to our lives now.” Many preachers will tell you that it takes about an hour of thinking and planning and researching and writing for each minute of a sermon, so a ten minute sermon might take ten hours to prepare. Just as writing a sermon can be hard, hard work, so can listening sometimes be hard work, even for adults, so let the children know that they might need to listen very carefully, and even then may need to ask a grown up about it after the service.

After the sermon comes the creed, where we name our faith, and then we pray for the Church and for the world. The children have some drawing they can do if you have time, drawings of the church and the world and thos...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Then and Now
• Introduction
• Session One: Sharing a Family Meal
• Session Two: Storytelling
• Session Three: These Holy Things
• Session Four: Praying Together
• Session Five: Manners and Customs
• Bibliography