Children and Communion

“Let the children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:16

When I was growing up the church’s practice was to require that a person be confirmed before they could receive communion. Some time in the 70’s the age for 1 st communion was moved back to 10. In the 90’s it was moved back again to age 7. In many Lutheran congregations, very young children and even infants are communed. If I go to a Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation, I will either not be permitted to commune at all because I am ELCA or will have to get permission from the pastor.

What’s going on with all these different and changing rules about who is permitted to receive communion?

Based on Paul’s admonition in 1Corinthians, the church has long been concerned about people communing unworthily and so bringing condemnation on themselves (1Cor. 11:27-34). The conventional wisdom has been that a person needs to understand what the Lord’s Supper is all about before they commune or that they must be in agreement with the doctrines of the denomination.

As a pastor, this has always troubled me. How worthy are any of us? How much do any of us understand? What are we supposed to do with mentally challenged people or people suffering from dementia? How is it that a person receives the grace of God at baptism with no understanding but the same isn’t true of Holy Communion? But as a pastor, what troubles me most is what happens at the altar rail with small children who wish to receive communion but are denied. The Lord’s Table becomes not a place of love and inclusion but a place tears and dejection or even fights with parents. For this reason and because I can find no theological justification for denying children communion, with the Council’s concurrence I will begin communing children at whatever age their parents desire.

I’ll plan to have a very brief conversation with the child and his/her parents before hand. We’ll also continue with communion instruction and first communion recognition for 10 year olds for those families who prefer.

Parents should speak to me if they wish their young children to receive communion. Others who have questions or concerns feel free to talk to me about it.

Pastor Susan

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Whenever we modify worship and especially when we change liturgies, there is a predictable response. Some people are delighted and others are disturbed. This is a testimony to the importance of worship and that is a good thing.

The challenge we face as a community of faith is to graciously manage our differing preferences when it comes to worship. This is particularly important at this point in history when our whole church is experiencing major shifts in worship practices and music styles. Gone are the days when one liturgy is used exclusively for years on end to everyone’s satisfaction.

While we want to preserve our marvelous musical and liturgical heritage, we also want our worship to reflect and be accessible to today’s culture. This is a faithful witness to our tradition as Lutherans for it was Luther himself who insisted that the liturgy be done in the vernacular (rather than Latin) and introduced the folk beer-drinking tunes (A Mighty Fortress is Our God!) into the Mass so that the people could sing the catchy music of their day.

Time and again recent attempts by worship leaders to modify worship in our churches have resulted in major congregational conflict. So common is this it has even been given a name: The Worship Wars. Not only have congregations experienced conflict, some have even been destroyed by these worship wars.

We are determined not to let that happen at CLC. Rather than divide the congregation into the “Traditionalists” and the “Contemporists,” our vision is to incorporate elements of both in all services. We will shift from very traditional to more contemporary liturgies at regular intervals, using the hymn choices and other elements in the liturgy for balance in style. The goal is to build up a repertoire of liturgies and music with which we will all be familiar.

Worship is for all but no one worship style can meet the needs of all in today’s world. Let us be generous in acknowledging the needs of others as having a legitimate place in our life together.

It’s not a matter of trying to be all things to all people. That will never happen. It is a matter of being a faithful witness to the whole body of Christ, both preserving our heritage and responding to our times. And most of all, it is a matter of our commitment to being a community of grace for Jesus’ sake.

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