What Is Communion in UU Congregations?
Well, it’s NOT* the Christian practice of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. This Sunday’s service does happen to have bread, but it is not meant to represent Jesus. (There will also be no wine.) If you have arrived here from a Christian tradition, I think it’s important to get this distinction out of the way right up front.
Communion in UU congregations is about community. We give something—bread, flowers, water, or other ritual objects or words, and we receive something—bread, flowers, water, or something else. We do this in community with lots of other people, each having our own experience but together, not alone. We move our bodies in sacred space together, we catch each other’s eyes, we shuffle and wait and go back to our seats. Even if you are watching the service on the livestream and can’t physically partake, you may feel connected in spirit.
These are some of my favorite services because for me, one thing worship is for is celebrating and building community. Including active participation by as many people as possible is a great way to do that. I look forward to seeing you at Bread Communion! (And then Flower Communion in the spring!)
*There are a very few UU congregations with a strong Christian tradition who do offer eucharistic communions. And our Unitarian cousins in Europe certainly do them, too. Remember, though , that they do not consider Jesus a divine being, so the bread and wine are ritually important but not considered to literally or spiritually become his body and blood.
Communion in UU congregations is about community. We give something—bread, flowers, water, or other ritual objects or words, and we receive something—bread, flowers, water, or something else. We do this in community with lots of other people, each having our own experience but together, not alone. We move our bodies in sacred space together, we catch each other’s eyes, we shuffle and wait and go back to our seats. Even if you are watching the service on the livestream and can’t physically partake, you may feel connected in spirit.
These are some of my favorite services because for me, one thing worship is for is celebrating and building community. Including active participation by as many people as possible is a great way to do that. I look forward to seeing you at Bread Communion! (And then Flower Communion in the spring!)
*There are a very few UU congregations with a strong Christian tradition who do offer eucharistic communions. And our Unitarian cousins in Europe certainly do them, too. Remember, though , that they do not consider Jesus a divine being, so the bread and wine are ritually important but not considered to literally or spiritually become his body and blood.
Posted in Dawning Thoughts