The Sacrament of
Holy Communion  

Receiving Communion      United Methodists may kneel, sit or stand to receive Holy Communion. The choice is left to each congregation and person.      Kneeling at a communion rail goes back to medieval Roman Catholic practice, continued by the Church of England and taken from it by Methodists. Going forward is an active response to Christ's invitation. Kneeling expresses humble petition. Communing seated is the prevailing practice in much of Protestantism and is a necessity for those unable to stand or kneel. It enables members of the congregation to serve one another and expresses our union with one another in Christ.      Communing standing has become much more common in recent years. One may go forward to a communion station and be served. Smaller congregations may form a large circle and serve one another. Standing symbolizes an active response of praise, thanksgiving and commitment.      Some congregations receive standing at communion stations, with the option of kneeling at the rail afterwards for as long as one wishes. - The Rev. Hoyt Hickman, Nashville, Tenn., author, educator, and church worship expert.

One Bread, One Body      Early Christians shared a common loaf of bread and a common cup for Holy Communion. Paul wrote that the bread signifies that we are one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). Through the centuries individual wafers or precut cubes of bread were substituted. In recent years, however, many Christians have reclaimed use of a common loaf.      The individual communion cups used by many Protestants were introduced in the 1890s for sanitation reasons. Prior to that, use of a common cup was taken for granted by Christians.      Intinction (dipping bread in the cup) was widely used by military chaplains in World War II and has come into increasing use since then. It restores the biblical common cup, signifies unity and is easy to prepare.

Wine to Welches!      The historic and ecumenical Christian practice has been to use wine at Holy Communion. So why do United Methodists and so many other Protestants use grape juice?      According to The United Methodist Book of Worship (page 28), "the use of unfermented grape juice by The United Methodist Church and its predecessors... expresses pastoral concern for recovering alcoholics, enables the participation of children and youth, and supports the church's witness of abstinence" from alcohol.      Use of grape juice by United Methodist predecessors began in the late 19th century. Before then there was no way to preserve unfermented grape juice. Then, shortly after Louis Pasteur first pasteurized milk, a Methodist communion steward in Vineland, N.J., named Welch, began pasteurizing grape juice for the Eucharist.      Other congregations heard about his invention and ordered grape juice from him. People also started drinking it as a beverage. The Welch family kept expanding their grape juice business and founded the company that still bears their name.