Celebration of Communion outside of the Sanctuary

Marilyn McKelvey Tucker-Marek

It is appropriate to celebrate the Sacrament of Communion as often as every Lord’s Day (according to the PC(USA)’s Book of Order W-3.0409). In addition to the members who gather in the place of worship, the community has a responsibility to minister to those members who are unable to participate in person  by taking the sacrament to those who wish to receive it. 

There are many reasons a believer may be kept from joining the gathering of their worshiping community on any given week, though three broad circumstances are typical: short-term absence (such as due to an illness, injury, or work conflict); long-term absence (such as a chronic or serious physical or mental illness, age or infirmity, other ongoing circumstance); and the approach of death. Any circumstance that limits a person’s their ability to be present in their community’s worship time and space deserves consideration as a reason for a communion visit. The approach of death specifically offers an opportunity to share communion both with the dying person and with the friends or family who have gathered. Each of these situations may call for a different tone, different words, and different pastoral sensitivities.  

The term “communion visit” attempts to capture the great diversity of circumstances in which some members of the worshiping community may celebrate the sacrament in the context of a visit apart from a Lord’s Day service. By using a more expansive term, we both broaden our understanding of when such a celebration of the sacrament might be appropriate and honor the diversity of experiences and the complexity of the lives we lead. We also honor the importance of the worshiping life of the community beyond one space and one hour.     

Every tradition will likely give guidelines about the celebration of the sacrament in a home apart from a Lord’s Day service. The PC(USA)’s Book of Order, for example, says this:

As soon as possible after the service (ordinarily on the same day), the bread and cup may be shared with absent, homebound, or hospitalized members by two or more persons in ordered ministry. Those who carry out this extended service of communion shall be authorized by the session; equipped with the necessary theological, pastoral, and liturgical gifts and resources; and instructed to maintain the unity of Word and Sacrament through the reading of Scripture and offering of prayers (W-3.0414).

I encourage those organizing a communion visit to invite additional members of the worshiping community to participate. There may be circumstances in which only a very small group is appropriate for a communion visit, but I have experienced many occasions on which a larger group was both meaningful and most welcome. Whenever possible, all those present should participate as fully as able in the liturgy. Those participating may take turns leading the different parts of the liturgy, though the minister or an elder authorized by the session should always offer the words of institution. Wherever you see an asterisk (*), use the words most familiar or comfortable for those in your worshiping community. 

Liturgy for a Communion Visit with Those Experiencing a Brief or Long-Term Absence from Worship in the Sanctuary Due to Illness 

Opening Sentences
The Lord is my light and my salvation, 
in God I trust. 

Confession
Holy God, you made us in your image,
but we struggle to see ourselves as you do.
You promise to be our strength and shield,
but when beset by the trials and travails of this life,
we allow disappointment to outroot hope
and bitterness to crowd out joy.
Renew our weary spirits.
Restore our suffering souls.
Rest our worn bodies,
that we may live in your love
with each day and each breath you grant us. Amen. 

Pardon
Friends, the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
We have already received the forgiveness we need, which God alone can give.
Thanks be to God.

Scripture
(A selection of Scripture is read. While it is most appropriate to choose a reading that the congregation heard in the most recent worship service, the text below serves as a suggestion when those readings may not fit the circumstance.)

Mark 12:28–34

The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God. 

(When circumstances permit, the minister or elder may offer a brief reflection on the Scripture read. Alternatively, those gathered for the communion visit may reflect together on the question “How has God spoken to us today through this reading?”)

Invitation to the Table
Christ, who was born in a borrowed room
and whose body was laid in a borrowed tomb,
spent his life as a guest.
But here, Christ stands as host, and he makes us welcome. 

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving
*The Lord be with you.
And also with you. 

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord. 

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise. 

Three in one and one in three,
from the heights of heaven to the depths of the sea,
from the smallest microorganism to the greatest human endeavor,
you made all that was, is, and will be. 

*Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosannah in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Holy Will, Wonderful Wisdom, Enfleshed Word,
you moved through the world,
Love embodied, and heard.
You brought in broken people, you restored and cured,
and you showed us your way.
We give thanks that you used your body
to minister to the bodies of all those you met,
challenging expectations and changing lives. 

We remember that the night before he died,
gathered with friends in a borrowed room,
our Lord took bread,
gave thanks, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, broken for you.
Take. Eat. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying,
“This is the cup of the covenant, my blood
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Take. Drink. Do this in remembrance of me.”

*Great is the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. 

Mother, Master, Mover, come near.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
that this meal may be a communion in the body and blood of our Lord.
May we feel your presence
as we share these gifts.
Cast all fear from our hearts
and bind us together in hope. 

We pray as Christ taught us, saying,
*(All speak the Lord’s Prayer in whatever words are closest to the hearts of those gathered.)

Communion

Prayer after Communion
Holy God, you send the rains in due season,
and seed in the earth brings forth grapes and wheat.
We thank you that you meet us wherever we are,
provide for us in our times of need,
and continually nourish and renew us at your table.
Hold us in your holy presence, we pray,
now and always. Amen. 

Blessing
Beloved, remember these words of Christ,
“Come to me, all you who are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”
May your soul rest in the knowledge
that you belong to God.

Liturgy for a Communion Visit with Those Approaching Death

Opening Sentences
Even darkness is not dark to you.
I come to the end; I am still with you. 

Confession
Holy God, in your book is written
all the days of our lives.
You know the many ways in which
we have failed you and others.
Forgive us for the harm we have caused
and the good we left undone.
Heal what we have broken
and restore what we cannot rebuild.
Right the wrongs and injustices in our weary world.
Wipe away our sin, Perfector of our faith. Amen. 

Pardon
Who is to condemn?
It is Christ Jesus, who died,
yes, who was raised,
who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
Thanks be to God. 

Scripture
(A selection of Scripture is read. While it is most appropriate to choose a reading that the congregation heard in the most recent worship service, the text below serves as a suggestion when those readings may not fit the circumstance.)

Romans 8:38–39

(When circumstances permit, the minister or elder may offer a brief reflection on the Scripture read. Alternatively, those gathered for the communion visit may reflect together on the question “How has God spoken to us today through this passage?”)

Invitation to the Table
The Lord of life has gone ahead of us, saying,
“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
so that where I am, there you may be also.”
We approach this table trusting in this promise
and ready to receive a foretaste of the kingdom to come. 

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving
*The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise. 

Breath of Life,
you knit us together
in the darkness of our mother’s womb
as you fashioned all of creation.
You remain mindful of the sparrows of the air
and the lilies of the field.
We bless and praise your name. 

*Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosannah in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Lord of Life, you lived, died, and rose again,
the first fruits of those who have died.

We remember that the night before he died,
gathered with friends in a borrowed room,
our Lord took bread,
gave thanks, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, broken for you.
Take. Eat. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying,
“This is the cup of the covenant,
my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Take. Drink. Do this in remembrance of me.”

*Great is the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. 

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
that this meal may be a communion
in the body and blood of our Lord.
Make us one with Christ
and with all who share this feast.

You intercede for us
with sighs too deep for words.
Now enfold us in the shadow of your wings.
Bring us, in our turn, to our eternal rest
and to new life in Christ. 

We pray as Christ taught us, saying,
*(All speak the Lord’s Prayer in whatever words are closest to the hearts of those gathered.)

Communion

Prayer after Communion

Holy God, you nourished us with spiritual milk,
and have seen us through all the days of our lives.
Now complete within us what you began at our baptism.
May the taste of love we have just received at your table
strengthen us for the newness that lies ahead. Amen. 

Blessing

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.