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We at
St. Hilda's offer Communion to all
spiritual pilgrims.
Below are two
articles that help explain why we and
other churches find this practice a
generous Christ-Like Hospitality.
The Case for Open Communion (from the May
2011 edition of the Anglican Journal)
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-update-items/article/the-case-for-open-communion-9707.html
Towards a Generous Hospitality (from Christ Church Cathedral)
http://www.cathedral.vancouver.bc.ca/2011/09/12/toward-generous-hospitality/
These are some of the invitations to
Communion we use at St. Hilda's:
1) The Kingdom of God is like a seed planted in a woman's
heart, slowly, silently, stretching it beyond family and friends,
church and nation until one day that heart bursts open revealing a
table that is as wide as the world and as warm as an intimate
embrace.
Around this table everyone eats and no one is stuffed, each
drinks deeply of love unearned. Come now to this feast of our
Emmanuel.
2) The table of bread and
wine is now to be made ready. It is the table of company with
Jesus and with all those who love him. It is the table of sharing
with the poor of the world, with whom Jesus himself identified. It
is the table of communion with the earth in which Christ became
incarnate.
So come to this table you who have much faith and you who would like
to have more; You who have been to this sacrament often, and you who
have not been for a long time; You who have tried to follow Jesus
and you who have failed. Come, it is Christ who invites us to meet
him here.
3) There is often a moment, when everything we profess to
believe, fades in the light of heaven; when all creed and custom and
tradition and theology, is left outside, and the holy floods in
pulling us towards the doorstep of heaven. This is one such
moment.
So my friends; the simple invitation is this; Come by this table,
God is expecting us.
| Our Final Commissioning
- Eye contact and a smile |
While reciting the words below, members of the congregation are
encouraged to turn and smile at all those with whom they can make eye
contact. |