Week 3: God’s Love Today – Communion at Our Church

Story Station: Communion at Our Church

Lesson based on Puppet Lesson by Kirk of Kildare: http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...essons/LSPuppets.htm

For the “Story Station” this week, we asked a deacon to come demonstrate how communion is prepared at our church, and to answer any questions they had. This list of questions was wonderful to give to him so that he’d have an idea of what to think about ahead of time, in terms of what questions kids might have – and what he might want to explain even if kids didn’t ask. Many thanks to Kirk of Kildare for posting the puppetry lesson this is drawn from – it’s a great one!

Communion Questions:
Note: The leader does not need to memorize or read these answers. The answers are written out here as an example of what you can say, but you do not need to use these words exactly.

QUESTION 1: “Where do you get the grape juice and bread for communion?”
ANSWER: “A member of the church buys the bread and juice at any grocery store. Sometimes church members choose to make the bread at home, though, as a way to share their talents with the congregation. During the communion service we pray that God will use these regular foods in a special way to grow closer to God.”

QUESTION 2: “How do you get the grape juice in those little cups?”
ANSWER: “We fill this little squirt bottle with grape juice. Then we squirt it out into the cups. We could just pour it from the grape juice bottle into the cups, but the squirt bottle is neater than pouring would be.” (The workshop leader may borrow the squirt bottle and several small plastic communion cups to demonstrate.) Call Hazel Allen, Worship Committee Chair (380-0398) if you would like to use these.)

QUESTION 3: “How do you get the bread in little pieces?”
ANSWER: “Church members help with that job, too. They just cut the bread with a knife into little pieces.”

QUESTION 4: “Where did the communion plates and trays come from?”
ANSWER: “Sometimes a church buys their communion plates and trays, but other times people give them as a gift in memory of a friend or family member. Some of the communion plates and trays at the Kirk were given in memory of people who died.

QUESTION 5: “Why are the communion plates and trays so fancy?”
ANSWER: “Do you ever use special or fancy dishes at your house on holidays or birthdays? That is a way families make those times of celebration more special. We are doing that in the church, too. When we use pretty or fancy communion plates and trays it shows the congregation that this is a special service.”

QUESTION 6: “Who are the people that serve communion?”
ANSWER: “The leaders of our church are called elders. They have been elected by the congregation to make decisions for our church. Only elders may serve communion. Once you have been an elder in any Presbyterian Church you may always help serve communion.

QUESTION 7: “What does the name communion mean?”
ANSWER: “It means ‘to share’. When we have communion we are sharing with God and with other members of the church.”

QUESTION 8: “I heard someone use the word ‘sacrament’ when they talked about communion. What’s that?”
ANSWER: “The word ‘sacrament’ is related to the word ‘sacred’ which means ‘holy’ or ‘set aside for the worship of God’. When we celebrate communion, we are setting aside the bread and juice as a special way to worship God.”

QUESTION 9: “Why is everyone so quiet during communion?”
ANSWER: “Being quiet is a way to show respect for something or someone. We are respectful toward God and the other people in church when we are quiet. It gives people around us time to pray, think about God, and remember how good God has been to them.

QUESTION 10: “Why do we pass the trays of juice and bread sometimes and other times go to the front of the church?”
ANSWER: “There are many ways of sharing the bread and the juice. The tradition in our church is to pass the trays along the pews, but sometimes a change is nice and we go to the front to receive communion. In some churches, people go to the front of the church and kneel and the minister gives them the bread that way. The way we receive the bread and juice is not as important as remembering Jesus and using this time to worship God.”

QUESTION 11: “What happens to the little cups after communion?”
ANSWER: “They are plastic and we throw them away. We use new cups the next time.”

QUESTION 12: “Who takes communion?”
ANSWER: In the Presbyterian Church anyone who has been baptized can share communion. This applies to children, too, if their parents agree. In some families children begin to share communion when they are very young. In other families, the parents think it is best for the children to be older and have a better understanding of Jesus, God and the church before they share communion. If you are not sure if it is ok for you to have communion, ask your parents.”

QUESTION 13: “I went to another church one time and they said I couldn’t take communion there. Why not?”
ANSWER: “Some churches have a rule that you must be a member of that particular church to take communion with them. If you visit a different church and they are having communion, ask your host or your parents if you can share communion there, too.”

QUESTION 14: “My mom says that communion is her favorite worship service. It seems kind of boring to me. I don’t get it.”
ANSWER: “For many people, communion is a time when they feel very close to God. It is a very nice feeling to notice the peace of God near you and to feel that God loves you and cares about you. For many people this is what they feel during communion and why communion is a special time for them.”

QUESTION 15: “I forget what we say when we pass the bread. What is it?”
ANSWER: “In our church, we say ‘The body of Christ broken for you’ when we pass the bread. By saying this we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us—that his body was broken for us—even though we did not deserve such love and care. These are also the words that Jesus said to the disciples when he shared bread with them. Do you remember we read that earlier today?”

QUESTION 16: “What do we say when we pass the juice?”
ANSWER: “In our church we say, ‘The blood of Christ shed for you’ when we pass the juice. Again this helps us remember that Christ died for us—that his blood was shed for us. This is also similar to what Jesus said to the disciples. How amazing that Jesus would do that for us!”

QUESTION 17: “Who decides when we will have communion at the Kirk?”
ANSWER: “The elders and ministers of our church meet together to make decisions for the Kirk. Each year, they decide on which Sundays we will have communion. We usually have it about 6 times a year.”

QUESTION 18: “What doe we call the table we put the bread and juice on?”
ANSWER: It is called the communion table. The table we use for communion is always in the front of the church. You can see it there every Sunday. It is called the communion table. This table is a way to remember that we share with each other around a table just like Jesus shared with the disciples. When we are going to have communion, we put a special tablecloth on it, just like you might have a special tablecloth at home.”

QUESTION 19: “Once I had communion and they had little flat crackers. What were those?”
ANSWER: “Sometimes churches use bread that does not have any yeast in it because this might have been the kind of bread that Jesus was using. When bread does not have any yeast—it is hard and crunchy, like crackers.”

QUESTION 20: “I’m confused about the juice and wine stuff. Why do we use grape juice, but the Bible talks about wine?”
ANSWER: “Wine was very common at the time of Jesus because it was a way to preserve the juice from the grapes. They didn’t have refrigerators then to keep juice cold and fresh like we do. Since it is easier for us to keep grape juice fresh now than it was in Jesus’ time we just use grape juice instead of wine. Some churches, though, still use wine since that is more similar to what Jesus used.”

QUESTION 21: “I think it would be nice to have communion at home sometime. Could we borrow the cups and plates for that?”
ANSWER: “No, in our church, communion is to be part of a regular worship service not a private service at home. The communion service should include hymns, Bible reading, confession and prayer and those are the things that we include in our regular worship at church. Not just anyone is allowed to offer communion. Communion needs to be led by our pastors. They have been given special training and authority to offer this sacrament to us. Come to church and share communion with lots of other people who believe in Jesus, too.”

An idea posted by Heather Eaton.

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