KELSIE PETERSEN
Growing up Adventist, 13th Sabbath was an exciting—yet dreadful—event. Usually there was a special program and a short sermonette instead of the regular sermon, and this was followed by communion. In Adventism, the sharing of the emblems—the bread and the “wine”—was preceded by what we called “The Ordinance of Humility,” or a foot washing service. The men and women would divide, going to separate rooms within the church, and then pair off, women with women and men with men, and these pairs would take turns washing each other’s feet as an act of service, in remembrance of Christ’s washing of the disciple’s feet on the night of the Last Supper. After this, a hymn would be sung and the groups would return to the sanctuary where we seated ourselves in every other row of pews and prepared for the communion service. For a kid, this sequence of events meant an extra long morning—and an extra-long wait for Sabbath lunch. It also meant that, if we were baptized (or for some, if we could tell the significance/representation of the communion elements) we got to have a bit of cracker and juice during church.
My memories of communion as an Adventist are all quite somber and sullen.
My memories of communion as an Adventist are all quite somber and sullen. While I agree that the weight of what Christ endured on our behalf is, indeed, serious, we found no joy in the significance and end result of the sacrifice, even after going through the service. In fact, communion Sabbath was even more formal than the usual Sabbath service. I don’t have too many memories of communion in an Adventist church as an adult. Since it only observed four times a year, maybe it was easier to happen to be away on those weeks, or perhaps the memory just isn’t that impactful to me.
I will say that while my parents allowed me to participate in the cup and the bread from a pretty young age (as soon as I could recite what they stood for), the meaning of it all became much more significant to me after I was born again at the age of 12 (although I did not leave the Adventist church until 12 years later). The experience of being born again had deep-reaching impacts on my life, and I do remember being more deeply moved by the thought and mention of the cross, despite the rather routine way it was mentioned in the Adventist church—and in spite of the accompanying reminder that Jesus came to prove that we can keep the law.
Christian Communion
Since leaving Adventism, my experience with the Lord’s Supper as celebrated in Christian churches has been fairly consistent and routine. Both churches in which I have been actively involved over the last 19 years have celebrated communion once a month. I remember when I first learned that our new church (which we joined soon after leaving Adventism) would be having communion once a month, it was surprising to me. I had never really thought about how often any other church would observe it, only knowing that the Catholics “did it” every week.
I would often find myself moved to tears with gratitude and appreciation as we took the bread and the cup together.
As a newly-free former Adventist, communion Sundays were deeply impactful to me, particularly as my church became more and more gospel-focused over the first several years we were there. I would often find myself moved to tears with gratitude and appreciation as we took the bread and the cup together. Being reminded weekly of the gospel, and then monthly taking time to ponder the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was, I believe, instrumental in rooting myself in truth and in that message of salvation.
Over the years I have had a few conversations about communion, and it has been interesting to note the experiences and discoveries of others in their church experiences outside of Adventism. It seems that “once a month” is fairly common practice. To my surprise, I remember talking with one friend who had found their way out of Adventism, only to land in another problematic group. I was shocked to hear that this congregation they had joined had not celebrated the Lord’s Supper in over seven YEARS. I remember being shocked.
Why would a body of believers want to go that long without coming together in fellowship in the way Jesus had commanded us to do? Their reason was based in 1 Corinthians 11, which outlines instructions for examining oneself before partaking. The leader of this congregation was afraid that someone in the group would take the emblems in an unworthy manner, and thus he would be enabling them to sin, and as verse 30 says, to bring sickness or even death, upon themselves. While I appreciate the care and concern, the Bible does say, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). This verse seems to indicate communion is to be celebrated more than once every seven years.
Furthermore, refusing to allow the congregation to celebrate the Lord’s Supper is not protecting anyone from sin. By withholding communion, the congregation is denied the blessing of the shared meal Jesus gave us to remember Him and His completed atonement. God deals with each individual’s conscience regarding their attitude toward the body of Christ; the pastor is not asked to run interference by prohibiting the Lord’s Supper!
The Gospel Is Never Routine
On the other end of the spectrum, there are churches which practice communion every week. The obvious example is the Lutheran church, but I have come across other churches that make this their practice as well, including Redeemer Fellowship in Loma Linda. One of the arguments against this practice is that people may relegate it to the “routine” category, and it may lose its impact and significance as “just part of the service.”
While I agree that we never want something so profound to be watered down or to lose its significance, my heart and mind want to ask the questions, “Why? How?”
Every time I hear the gospel proclaimed, I hear the story of the last Supper and of Jesus’ words to His disciples, I am spiritually moved and invigorated. Because I am born again, the Spirit that lives within me makes these words alive, and they speak to my spirit, and I am drawn again to the cross, to the Savior, and to my need for Him.
During the pandemic, my family and I spent most Sundays on the couch watching Redeemer Fellowship from thousands of miles away.
During the pandemic, my family and I spent most Sundays on the couch watching Redeemer Fellowship from thousands of miles away. While Pastor Gary Inrig’s sermons are exceptionally good, it was always the communion time at the end I looked forward to the most. Sometimes I would prepare the drink and the bread, sometimes my kids would eagerly volunteer, but every week, I looked forward to turning my heart again to the very reason for my faith, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Now that we have been back to in-person church for some time, we are back to the once-a-month routine. Our current church celebrates the Lord’s Supper and then immediately moves into a time of potluck and fellowship, which is also something I enjoy—both for the conversation and the casseroles—but I find myself wishing we could do communion more often (even without the potluck). While there is no written prescription for how often a church should celebrate the Lord’s supper, as born again believers, we should rejoice in every opportunity to do so and savor the time of coming together as a body to celebrate what has been done for us.
I don’t know how often your church celebrates communion. I hope it is often. I pray it never becomes routine or dry. I pray that your spirit rejoices every time in the wonder of and gratitude for what has been done on our behalf. The price we could not pay has been paid in full.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought
Horatio Spafford
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul!
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As a new Christian in my twenties, I attended a church that celebrated the Lord’s Supper weekly during an evening service. Acts 20:7 supports the idea that the reason for gathering together was to remember the Lord Jesus as he instructed the night of his betrayal. Each service began with a devotional exposition by assignment of a male member of the church. The teaching was always worshipful and meant to extol the Lord Jesus Christ, that in all things, he is preeminent (Col 1:16); and it set the mood and theme for the evening. Others would respond as the Spirit led by requesting a hymn or song, reading related verses, praising God in prayer and thanksgiving, or adding thoughts to the devotion. Then someone would thank the Lord for the bread, and it would be passed around. And this would be followed in similar fashion with the wine. A closing song and prayer would conclude the observance.
Of all the churches that I’ve attended since, none have come close to accomplishing such a meaningful ceremony. It’s not the only way to do things, but it showed me that the Lord’s Supper could be observed on a weekly basis without becoming rote. We put a lot of work and emphasis on preaching and singing in our churches today, but not as much on prayer and communion. A local church would have to set their mind on making this privilege and duty a significant and anticipated aspect of worship.