Protestant Communion

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But if we are in a state of grace we are to recieve Holy Communion right?
It is highly recommended by recent popes many saints to receive communion as frequently as possible, at least weekly and daily if your circumstances permit. (Assuming you are not in a state of mortal sin.) However, as already noted such frequent reception is not a law.
 
What is “Plymouth Brethren”?
Is that a type of Puritan like Cromwell?
No, it’s not a type of puritan or Mennonite.

It’s it’s own bag. It’s a type of evangelical church that started in the early 19th century by, among others, John Nelson Darby. He is famous for popularizing, if not inventing, the concept of secret rapture and dispensational theology.

Some groups are very similar to a “non-denominational Bible Church”, while others (closed or exclusive Brethren) are extremely separatist and cult-like.

I talk about them on my blog, here.

Also see Wikipedia’s article.
 
No I don’t believe they have been transformed, that is true. What does concern me is the double sacrilege they perform. They do a communion without truely believing and they reinforced that unbelief by feeding the leftovers to dogs or whatever animal may walk by the back door.
Now I do not think that was a very nice thing to say!
As far as non Catholic Christian confessing sins, when Jesus died the veil in the Holy of Holys in the temple was torn from top to bottom eliminating the need for a preist and opening a way for us to go straght to God with all your requests.
Also when I sin and we all do, the Holy Spirit instantly convicts my spirit so that I can confess that sin right then and do not have to carry the burden of sin.

forever Baptist
allischalmers
 
I grew up plymouth brethren, and we had weekly communion, which we called Breaking of Bread. One tray of bread, both leavened and unleavened (matza) and you were free to choose. This was passed around. Then the trays of grape juice.

Worst thing though:

One time, at Bible Camp. . . 🙂

Seriously, at a campfire at Bible Camp, after singing songs and sharing testimonies, the Director decided we would have communion.

So we passed around a hamburger bun and a can of Ruby Red Squirt. I kid you not.

While my dad was on a missionary trip to India, he and his friend had communion with pieces of a Starburst!?!

I know this is totally ridiculous to catholic ears, but they aren’t doing it to be sacreligious. In their eyes, they’re just being creative in extraordinary circumstances.
If only they could understand how unserious and unimportant this makes their communion appear to outside eyes! What kind of faith is this, that they memorialize their God who has saved them from hell at the cost of an excruciating criminal’s death, that they pass around cubes of hamburger bun, Starburst, sips of soda? When an outsider cannot tell true devotion from mockery, what does that say about the form of the true devotion?! Did Christ really command us to look like unserious kooks to the outside world, the very people we are supposed to be evangelizing?

And again I ask, what kind of memorial meal for the Savior and Redeemer of the human race is hamburger buns, soda and Starbursts? Would we even memorialize an apartment handyman with such a skimpy meal? Of course we would not!
 
My work takes me to various religious groups and community service clubs to recruit volunteers. I found myself at a ‘non-denominational’ church’s evening service. They came from (or still are? I don’t know, many baptists and other drop their identifying names when starting a ‘community’ church.) the Church of Christ, which unlike many protestants, celebrates the ‘Lord’s Supper’ at every service.

The ‘celebration’ I observed consisted of baskets of the prepackaged crackers and juice left by the entry way. A few people, maybe 10% or so of those attending, picked up a package and proceeded to their seats like everyone else. Five minutes before the evening program was to begin, a gentleman got up to the microphone and asked those recieving the Lord’s Supper to stand. The few who had grabbed the packet stood up, and the leader said a short prayer ( I couldn’t hear the words over the hubbub of people visiting with each other while finding their seats) and then they ate the contents of their little package and sat down. The rest of the congregation didn’t even pause in their socializing. The hall was very noisy.

I don’t think these people intend to be disrespectful, it just seemed like it was so routine and ‘no big deal’ that most didn’t participate and didn’t even pay attention.

MarysRoses
 
My work takes me to various religious groups and community service clubs to recruit volunteers. I found myself at a ‘non-denominational’ church’s evening service. They came from (or still are? I don’t know, many baptists and other drop their identifying names when starting a ‘community’ church.) the Church of Christ, which unlike many protestants, celebrates the ‘Lord’s Supper’ at every service.

The ‘celebration’ I observed consisted of baskets of the prepackaged crackers and juice left by the entry way. A few people, maybe 10% or so of those attending, picked up a package and proceeded to their seats like everyone else. Five minutes before the evening program was to begin, a gentleman got up to the microphone and asked those recieving the Lord’s Supper to stand. The few who had grabbed the packet stood up, and the leader said a short prayer ( I couldn’t hear the words over the hubbub of people visiting with each other while finding their seats) and then they ate the contents of their little package and sat down. The rest of the congregation didn’t even pause in their socializing. The hall was very noisy.

I don’t think these people intend to be disrespectful, it just seemed like it was so routine and ‘no big deal’ that most didn’t participate and didn’t even pay attention.

MarysRoses
It’s like this, I was brought up in the so called “church of Christ” they believe that they and they alone are the ONE and only church belonging to Christ, even though they never existed before 1906.

They don’t really celebrate the “Lards Supper” at every service, but once a day, and on Sunday only. The people you saw at that evening service were only the people who weren’t able to be there for the morning service, since the huge majority of churchachristers are very serious about “not forsaking the assembling of the saints”, the people who missed the AM service are kind of treated like stepchildren.

In my childhood cofc they tried to embaress those who only attended the evening service and made them draw attention to themselves by standing up to “partake of the emblems” while everyone else sat and stared. At the evening service the teenage boys (cofc has no clergy, everyone is exactly the same as everyone else, the only thing is that women are allowed no participation at all, only males) would come up to the Lard’s Supper table. One boy would say a prayer like “Thanks for this bread, that reminds us of the body of Christ, broken on the cruel cross of calvary, in Jaysus name, AY-Min”.

Then they would pass the matzo crackers to the standing people only, and would go back up to the Lard’s Supper table and a different boy would say another praryer like “Thanks for the fruit of the vine, an emblem of the blood of Christ shed on calvary’s cross, in Jaysus name, AAYY-min” then they would carry trays filled with tiny shot glasses of grape juice (NEVER WINE!) around to the standing people only The whole process would take between 5 and 10 minutes to make more time for the 40 minute all important “lesson” never a homily or even sermon.

Church a Christ people are extremely legalistic about their worship services. They have a “list” of things they found in the bible each and everyone a legalistic reqirement, they go through these “worship acts” like a checklist, Pray, check, read bible, check, Lard’s Supper, check, sing (with no instruments accompanying) check, take up a collection, check, praych a sermon, check. They have a “song leader” who stands behind the pullpit waveing his arms to “lead the singing”. When they go through the items in the checklist they are done except for the “altar call”, then they are “dismissed with prayer” until wednesday night. The “praycher” is just exactly that and nothing else, HE gives sermons, HE is not ordained and goes to no seminary, they don’t even have seminaries to go to if they wanted to. The “praycher” is not allowed to say the prayers for the Lards Supper. Church a Christ has adult and adolescent baptisms by submerrsion only. It is not at all unusual for the Father to jump up and dunk their kids when one “responds to the invitation”.:eek:

Of course all of the churchachrist prayers are of the “make it up as you go along” type. Even though those prayers are nearly the same, amde up of the same tired words and phrases, just slightly rearranged. They think God will not listen to pre-written liturgical prayers.
 
I have never been to a Church of Christ service, though I have thought of checking it out.
For some reason the Baptists AND Methodists in my area are very leary of the Church of Christ, they talk about them like they are a cult.
WP
 
I just wanted to add a little to the thread. As mentioned earlier, not all Protestants believe that their Communion service is just a remembrance. I was raised Lutheran (Wisconsin Synod). They believed in Consubstantiation. Basically, Jesus’ spirit was with the elements during the Communion service, but afterwards, it reverts back to just bread and wine.

I remember when my old church (Catholic now) changed over from using the common cup to individual ones. They used a squirt bottle to fill the glasses with wine. The people would then kneel at the communion rail and take the bread directly into the mouth, but would grab the cups and drink it. It was a very reverant service, and Luther required an examination of conscience before receiving communion.

Funny thing though, I remember looking at all the wine that splashed out of the cups onto the altar area and thinking that something was terribly wrong. I thought, at that time, that we should give the utmost respect to our Lord’s body and blood, since the communion service was happening at that time. It seemed almost disrepectful to me. Some Lutheran churches never adopted the single serving cups.
 
WP, the so called church of Christ are definatley a cult, no doubt about it. They think they are the only Christians in the only true church that exists. They call for example Catholics, Methodists, and Baptists only Catholics, Methodists and Baptists while they and only they are called “christians” like it is a brand name for them. They are THE church, while everyone else are members of “denominational” churches. They actually claim that their church was started by the apostles in the year 33 AD. They and they alone (according to them) are “the Lord’s church”. They really were started as I said before in the year 1906 by schismatic, dissadents from the Christian Church (disciples of Christ) who splintered away becuase the Christian Church had such terrible things as pipe organs. missionary societies, and called their ministers “unscriptural” titles like Pastor and Reverend.

They use the tactic of shunning just like other cults. When I left “the church” and became Catholic I was treated as I was dead, noone even spoke to me, just like Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons other well known cults. When my step-mom died I was not even called on the phone,same thing went for my brother in law. The only reason I know about both deaths was from reading the on-line edition of the paper. In both cases they made sure that the obits were put in the paper AFTER the funerals were already done, that way I could not have gone to the funerals.😦
 
From my experience Methodists are pretty reverent of the sacrament.
WP
:amen: :blessyou: You understand something very important to the Christian faith. I pray that you may understand fully and become Catholic. 🙂 By the way, I have Methodist family members and friends. I definitely consider you to be my brothers and sisters in Christ! :love:
 
A similar question was asked over at BaptistBoard, and one of the responses was that after the service, what bread and wine were left over was fed to the stray dogs outside…
This sounds like that bible verse about the little dogs getting the crumbs on the floor from the bread on the table. The one about the woman that wanted her daughther healed. I don’t know the book and verse, after all I am Catholic. 😃 And I’m just too lazy right now to look up verses. :yawn:

Okay, I would be worried if this was being done after a Catholic Mass. Because we know very well that in the Catholic Church the Eucharist IS the Real Presence of Jesus Christ and is not symbolic in the least.

I’ve even heard that when they give out communion they are told and reasurred that this “bread” does not help at all in their salvation. :eek: They wouldn’t have the Real Presence anyway because they don’t have validly ordained Priests or Bishops but still… to say that would go against the Bible. But then again not if they think it is only a symbol and that Jesus meant that the “bread” is only the Word of God and not His flesh. :confused:
We believe the Bread of Life is Jesus Christ in His Flesh and in His Word.
 
I grew up protestant and but I never really realized how little significance the Eucharist could be to them until now. My sister went to a Baptist church last week and she said that the communion was pre-packaged. The bread and juice were packaged together in individual servings and she had to just take the plastic off of the top of it to get the wafer and then there was another layer of plastic under it to get the juice. She didn’t even have to get out of her seat. The ushers delivered it to everyone. She was suprised and hesitated. The usher asked if she was saved. She said yes and took one and that was the end of it. I was shocked. What is the significance when the Sacrament is reduced to a pre-packaged snack?😦
Oladare
I don’t know much about Catholic Communion. But if a Priest prayed over a stack of these communion packages using his regular routine, do you believe that the status of those individual servings would then be the same as these elements done in a normal ritual?

Take an example of a Priest’s desire to serve a remote bunch of Catholic soldiers in a trench, or some other reason for being indisposed, trapped miners, etc.
 
I don’t know much about Catholic Communion. But if a Priest prayed over a stack of these communion packages using his regular routine, do you believe that the status of those individual servings would then be the same as these elements done in a normal ritual?

Take an example of a Priest’s desire to serve a remote bunch of Catholic soldiers in a trench, or some other reason for being indisposed, trapped miners, etc.
In a situation like that, the priest would celebrate Mass in the proper way, first, with whomever could attend (who would receive Holy Communion in the normal way), and then he would reserve the Eucharist in a pyx (a kind of a little box that is designed for holding the Eucharist) and then he or someone designated by him would distribute it to those who were unable to attend the Mass.

This actually happens all the time, since we always have at least some members of our church in hospital or housebound (not always the same people, of course), and they receive the Eucharist in this way, after the Mass is over.

I can’t think of any situation where a priest would be forced to attempt to consecrate the Eucharist before it had been offered at the altar in the normal way.
 
Have you heard of the JW communion? They only do it on Easter, but only the chosen ones get to do it. Not the people “free of sin” just those 144,000 that are mentioned in the book of Revelation/Apocalipsis. And of those 144,000 chosen ones, there are very few left alive on Earth. Also, when they are ready to eat this, the pass it around to the entire congregation so everyone can be a part of it. They have this type of bread kind of like a pita bread on a plate and pass it from one person to the other until it gets to the last person’s hands, and then they do the same w/the glass of wine.

If that congregation doesn’t have one of the chosen ones, nobody gets to eat from it…

Sounds strange huh?

I’m just glad that the CC does it in its special way and makes each and every single one of us a part of it every day!!
 
I don’t know much about Catholic Communion. But if a Priest prayed over a stack of these communion packages using his regular routine, do you believe that the status of those individual servings would then be the same as these elements done in a normal ritual?

Take an example of a Priest’s desire to serve a remote bunch of Catholic soldiers in a trench, or some other reason for being indisposed, trapped miners, etc.
Wouldn’t the priest take the sacrament from the tabernacle in the pyx? He wouldn’t consecrate it on the field, only during Mass, right?

And no “juice” anyway.
 
In my profession–retired now–I often came in contact with non-Catholics and their practices.
In some communion consists of water or a few drops of grape juice and a cracker; I remember a very pious Protestant lady who insisted that Jesus would “never” have consumed real wine. She said that He drank Welch´s grape juice.
I observed a Lutheran minister throwing out communion wafers after services and asked why. He said his branch of the church belief that Jesus is really only present under the appearance of bread “during the service”. At another Lutheran church the red wine was non-alcoholic and the white wine did include alcohol, but there didn’t appear to be any ceremonial blessing of either.
The question of levened or unlevened bread is probably a minor issue, since some Eastern Rite Catholics use levened bread, while it is strictly prohibited in the Latin Rite.
 
They are Baptists after all, everything is nearly symbolic or figurative. One day the Crucifixion will be symbolic.
I hope that you believe in the real presence as I do. The words during the Catholic mass are very significant. When the priest presents the BODY of Christ before the comunion he really says the words that should orient our toughts “This is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…” The reason why we take this BODY is there solemnly given. All the Catholic priests in the entire world say the same words. This Jesus purifies, cleases. And the great passage of the “Temple Cleansing” is about this moment… I do not know why we look for another explanation.
God Bless!
 
Have you heard of the JW communion? They only do it on Easter, but only the chosen ones get to do it. Not the people “free of sin” just those 144,000 that are mentioned in the book of Revelation/Apocalipsis. And of those 144,000 chosen ones, there are very few left alive on Earth. Also, when they are ready to eat this, the pass it around to the entire congregation so everyone can be a part of it. They have this type of bread kind of like a pita bread on a plate and pass it from one person to the other until it gets to the last person’s hands, and then they do the same w/the glass of wine.

If that congregation doesn’t have one of the chosen ones, nobody gets to eat from it…

Sounds strange huh?

I’m just glad that the CC does it in its special way and makes each and every single one of us a part of it every day!!

I would like that people have my understanding of this 144,000
1= Holy be your name, Father
4= Give us our daily bread, Father
4= Fourth beatitude: Happy those who thirst ang hunger for justice for they will be satisfied.
000= Above every other things have in mind the great commandment: Love God with all your heart, hith all your spirit, with all your soul and love your neighbor in the same Holy Spirit.

Think of it and give me your reaction. God bless!!!1
 
Have you heard of the JW communion? They only do it on Easter, but only the chosen ones get to do it. Not the people “free of sin” just those 144,000 that are mentioned in the book of Revelation/Apocalipsis. And of those 144,000 chosen ones, there are very few left alive on Earth. Also, when they are ready to eat this, the pass it around to the entire congregation so everyone can be a part of it. They have this type of bread kind of like a pita bread on a plate and pass it from one person to the other until it gets to the last person’s hands, and then they do the same w/the glass of wine.

If that congregation doesn’t have one of the chosen ones, nobody gets to eat from it…

Sounds strange huh?

I’m just glad that the CC does it in its special way and makes each and every single one of us a part of it every day!!
So how do they know if they’re “chosen ones?”
 
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