DISCUSSION STARTERS

FOR CHURCH COUNCILS

Discussion Starters for Church Councils Page 2

This resource was written in 2012 as a tool to promote growth and capacity. It offers a self-help style

of training that can be tailored for individual councils, as well as providing the opportunity to further

build relationships and trust. The discussion style of learning/sharing is a starting place – please feel

free to take your discussion in whatever way is most helpful. We hope it will help each Council ensure

they are fulfilling their responsibilities and duties in life-giving and rewarding ways. You may like to

use it in place of your regular devotional time or set aside a portion of each meeting time.

Rev. Bronwyn Murphy

Associate Secretary

bronwynm@nsw.uca.org.au

2020

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Discussion Starters for Church Councils

Session 1: Who can be on Church Council

• Any ministry agents in placement

• Retired ministers or minister-in-associations

• Elders, if you have them, should make up at least 50% of the entire council – if you don’t, aim for

having at least 50% of the council people known for their spiritual maturity and wisdom.

• Confirmed members, members in association elected by Congregation in keeping with Regulations.

How often would Church Council meet?

The regulations suggest that Church Council should meet at least quarterly. Mostly, Councils meet monthly.

This is determined by your congregations needs.

In smaller congregations, the entire congregation serve as the council. Regardless of size, it is vital that

people regularly meet pray, discuss and record minutes of what is decided.

Discussion:

• Reflecting on the people in your church council, discuss the variety of gifts present. Is there a good

balance of spiritual gifts in the people of our council? Perhaps you could name the various gifts

within your Council in an exercise of affirmation.

• What gifts might we make our council even stronger, and who in our congregation might hold them?

• Do all feel that each member speaks up and shares in the discussion and decision making?

• Are we content with how often our meetings are held as well as how accurately our decisions are

recorded?

• What improvement/changes might we like to see?

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Session 2: What am I responsible for?

The task of Church Council is to provide leadership and spiritual oversight to the congregation.

It is Church Council’s responsibility to think strategically and look to the future. Their job is to help and guide

the congregation as they live out their desired missional goals. Please note that Church Council does not

decide on or impose the missional goals - it serves the congregation as they are lived out. Meetings are not

to tick off agenda items but to engage in forward thinking. This ensures the congregation/s remain outwardly

focuses - active and vital in ministry and mission. Church Council is to guard against apathy and complacency

and to guide the congregations as it seeks to be God’s servants, serving God’s world.

The regulations suggest that Church Council is to this by ‘building up the Congregation in faith and love,

sustaining members in hope, and leading the Congregation to a fuller participation in Christ’s mission in the

world.’ This is supposed to shape the agenda of each and every ordinary meeting. Councillors need to guard

against their meetings becoming a totally business-oriented meeting. All councils need to remember each

person is called to contribute to leadership and action, ensuring it isn’t left to one or two people to carry the

load. It is very easy for councillors to forget their responsibilities as soon as the meeting is over.

Discussion:

• Is providing leadership and spiritual oversight our main priority in reality?

• If not, what is? Are we content that this be so?

• By what measure can we be sure we are fulfilling this task of building up the Congregation?

• If we are not so sure, how might we get back on track? Who might help us? How can we ensure this

doesn’t get lost in the future?

• Are we all sharing in leadership or are we leaving the bulk of the load to one or two people? Discuss

how each person feels.

• Do we go from meeting to meeting without acting on the decisions we have made?

• Which of the pictures below best sums up each individuals understanding of leadership? Why?

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Session 3: How to think Strategically and Missionally

(This runs for 2 sessions)

Read these quotes and discuss what you think they mean as well as how they might relate to your

council/congregation?

The Christian Church is the one organisation in the world that exists

purely for the benefit of non-members

William Temple

“The Church is by nature missionary - to the extent that, if it ceases to be missionary, it has not just failed in

one of its tasks, it has ceased being Church”

What is Mission?: Theological Explorations by J. Andrew Kirk, 2000, p. 30.

Mission is not a task that is one among several... Mission, rather, belongs to the very purpose, life and

structure of the church – mission is its “royal charter”

Bevans & Schroeder, 2003: 290

The mission of God has a church. The church does not have a mission.

Quoted by Rev Dr Clive Pearson 2009

Discussion:

• What do we think each quote is saying? How might it relate to us?

• If we look honestly at our congregation as well as our church council, are our attitudes missional?

Are our actions and activities missional? In what way/s?

• How might we as a council guide our congregation into thinking Missionally?

• Are we mostly looking outward at the needs of the community and wider world, or are we mainly

inwardly focussed, ensuring our doors stay open, worrying about our finances, rosters and buildings?

• What have we noticed God is doing in our community? How might we join in?

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Session 4: How to think Strategically and Missionally (continued)

If your congregation has set mission goals and has a plan for the next few years, it is Church Councils job to

keep sight of them. Each month a different part of the mission plan could be discussed as to whether you are

on track or not. This might also help Church Council guard against becoming business focussed rather than

mission focussed. It is vital that Church Council keeps the congregation’s eyes looking outwards to its

community rather than inwardly self caring. This is not to say the Congregation/ Council should be

irresponsible with church affairs – of course we need to maintain ourselves appropriately – but, following

Jesus Christ who called the church into being, the majority of our thought and actions should be for others.

Discussion:

• How does this congregation know what direction it wants to move in? Are there specific goals or things

we want to achieve in the short/long term?

• How are these held before the congregation, so we don’t lose sight of them? How might we do this

more effectively?

• How might Church Council use them as a standard against which to measure any future proposals or

suggestions?

• If we have no goals or direction, how might we guide our decision making?

• Do you feel it is possible to stand still as a church? If we are not moving forward is there a possibility we

will end up drifting backwards?

• Does the cartoon below resonate with you? In what ways?

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Session 5: Importance of Relationships

People should matter even more than regulations.

The way church councillors treat one another is often more

important that the decisions we make. A church council

meeting should be a place of hospitality and generosity

where all people are valued and affirmed. Confidence must

be maintained. That means what happens at Church Council

stays at Church Council – it isn’t talked about in the car park

afterwards! Each person is expected to contribute – not

dominate the conversation nor shrink away from speaking at

all. The consensus cards are especially helpful in indicating to

the Chair that you would like to speak.

The tone and manner with which you speak will be even

more important than what you say. We are part of God’s kingdom – thus we build each other up, encourage

and affirm one another as well as hold each other accountable. That means if someone becomes overly

aggressive, critical or hurtful, the chair and another 1-2 people might need to sit with that person and

lovingly encourage them to reflect on how they might choose a different way of communicating next time.

Discussion:

• Look at the life of Jesus and discuss who/what he treated as sacred (share examples). What that

might tell us about how we treat one another?

• How do each of us feel as the Church Council meeting draws closer? Give each person present time

to answer this honestly.

• How do each of us feel as we go home? Do we feel worthwhile and that we have spent our time well

– or are we frustrated and resentful? Again, listen to each person.

• As we express an opinion or thought at a CC meeting, how do we (mostly) feel... listened too and

heard – or de-valued and judged? How is this communicated to us?

• In what ways does our Church Council meeting model the kingdom of God and the hospitality of

Jesus Christ?

• How can we intentionally improve our relationships and the mood of our meeting?

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Session 6: Worship

Church Council has the responsibility of maintaining and

overseeing the worship services of a congregation. That

means deciding the time as well as the content. Any new

services should be discussed and approved by Council. It is

important that CC members not be gate keepers, but open

to the needs and ideas of the congregation, enabling

creative and fresh expressions of worship to blossom.

It is CC’s task to see that the needs of the least are met. Is

there something for children? Is it a valued part of

worship, or is it the first thing to go if pressed for time?

Is the worship inclusive e.g., if everyone stands up to recite a creed,

how does that make those in wheelchairs feel? Do mum’s have a

carpeted area for their children to play and so feel less self

conscious? How are visitors welcomed, not just in the service, but

do people talk to them at the cuppa afterwards? Is the content of

worship healthy and varied? Do people feel energised and

spiritually refreshed by attending church or are they bored?

Councils task is not to simply give people what they want, but to

provide meaningful worship that challenges and offers variety as well as encourages and affirms.

Church Council also oversees an annual covenanting service wherein the people are commissioned to work

and serve in the name of Christ for the coming year (see your Presbytery Resource Minister for such a

service.) It is also CC’s task to ensure appropriate acknowledgement of the church calendar and seasons is

reflected in worship – e.g., dressing the church appropriately and overseeing any additional

furniture/features in the church and hall. That doesn’t mean church council have to do it all – but to oversee

that it happens. Sometimes the best thing CC can do is to find a creative person and let them experiment!

Discussion:

• Any or all of the above questions.

• How do we each feel about attending worship? What might make it an even more positive

experience?

• Consider appointing a few people to objectively critique a month of worship and feed back to us

what they learned and observed? Perhaps talk with the congregation via feedback sheets to see how

they are feeling about worship? Church council could then commit to addressing any issues that

might arise. (feel free to contact your Presbytery Resource Minister for any help required in preparing

critique)

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Session 7: Sacraments

Holy Communion:

Church Council oversees Communion – they decide who is

trained and licensed to preside. Who might be invited to assist

as communion stewards – do they have to be Elders or Church

Council members, or may any member of the congregation be

invited? Would children be allowed to serve? In line with the

Assembly National Working Group’s paper on Holy Communion

(see appendix 1), Church Council is responsible to ensure Holy

Communion is served in a variety of ways and that appropriate

liturgy is used. It is also Church Councils responsibility to ensure

the communion stewards know what they are doing and what words are appropriate to say as well as when

to say them. They may ask their minister or resource minister for help in this training.

Baptism

Church Council, with the minister in placement, has oversight over who gets baptised and ensures the

congregation maintains its promises Reg. 1.1.3. This is not meant to be a rubber-stamping type approval, but

a genuine discussion about how the church might grow a real relationship with the family concerned. Who

would be the best person to be their sponsor? Remember it doesn’t have to be a Council Member. Does the

desired date fit in with the church doings? Could a special morning tea

be implemented, celebrating baptisms in a more social setting? What

follow up might there be to ensure the relationship doesn’t drift

away? Could you hold an annual picnic in the park or a special service

giving thanks for all those baptised in the last year? Do you have a

cradle role? Perhaps you are already doing these things – or more –

consider letting Bron know so she can share your ideas with other

congregations.

The other responsibility is to promise nurture for the person being baptised – regardless of age. This means

your congregations should have some way of offering an ongoing and life-giving relationship with those it

baptises.

Discussion:

• What is Church Council policy and approach to baptisms?

• Do we intentionally seek a growing relationship with the family, or do we simply provide a service?

Are we content with our approach? What might we do to lift our game?

• Who is invited to serve as communion stewards? Could we name different people who might feel

blessed to be asked?

• In the past 3 months, what variety has there been in the way Holy Communion is conducted and

served?

• Invite each member to read Assembly’s paper before the meeting, and then discuss together what

might this Church Council need to do in order to fulfil its responsibility?

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Session 8: Who preaches and when

It is Church Council’s responsibility to ensure the congregation

is being stimulated and grown in mission as well as their own

personal and corporate discipleship. Church Council has the

task of promoting theological literacy amongst its people and

ensuring a range of theological perspectives are offered.

Actively encouraging and providing opportunity for further

learning such as bible studies, and workshops; seeking out

potential lay preachers and encouraging them to study and to

seek accreditation as well as liaising with Presbytery about due

process is a vital part of being a Church Councillor. It really is so

much more than attending a regular meeting.

Church Council oversees the preaching plan; decides who can preach and what level of theological training is

necessary. Should a lay preacher overstep the mark in some way, it is Church Council who follows up with

appropriate discipline procedures (see reg’s or contact your Presbytery Minister, (Rev. Graeme McRaild).

Church Councillors should be in touch with congregation members to see that the people leading worship

are meeting their needs and not just responding to their wants.

Church Council may also like to consider inviting preachers from other places. One of the concerns about

shrinking clergy numbers is that fewer people in congregations have access to new understandings of theology

as well as a variety of preaching styles. This means that we can listen to the same voices again and again –

which can be wonderful! But it can also mean that our people start to think they have heard it all before and

so cease to listen. It can also mean that our interpretations become narrower and more rigid. We rarely learn

from hearing what we already agree with – it is only when we are challenged that we think deeply about what

we believe – thus variety is essential to robust and enduring discipleship.

Discussion:

• What is the standing of training our lay preachers are expected to have?

• Do we make exceptions? If so, for whom? Is this fair and helpful?

• What support do we offer potential lay preachers – in encouragement and financial contribution to

study and books?

• Are CC members pro-active in encouraging people to use and develop their gifts in leadership and

ministry?

• In what ways do we encourage theological literacy and discipleship training to our congregation?

• Do we as Church Councillors, take seriously our own discipleship growth and so serve as role models

for other members of the congregation?

• How might the needs of the congregation differ to their wants – how can we responsibly provide

leadership in this?

• Are we willing to grapple with new ideas and seek to explore and understand what we believe? more

deeply

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Session 9: Place of Devotions

Most of our Church Council meetings usually

begin with a devotional time. While this is not

compulsory, it is up to each council to ensure it is

more than a tokenistic gesture. It is Church

Councils task to set aside adequate time for

opening worship and prayer. I encourage you to

set aside at least 30-45 minutes so as to allow

time for respectful and a meaningful conversation

and debate. If Church Council members cannot

converse about theological issues, it will struggle

when encouraging the congregation in doing so.

Any congregation is well served when its church

council can speak to one another of personal

belief as well as shared hopes and dreams.

This also has the added benefit of growing relationships of trust and mutual respect. It also guards against a

council becoming agenda driven and business focussed.

Discussion:

• How do we each feel about our devotions – are they meaningful or routine?

• Share a devotional time that you found especially meaningful. What was it that made it so helpful?

• What kind of opening worship/devotions would stretch us, encourage us and grow our

relationships?

• How can we implement this and keep it from getting lost in a busy agenda?

• What place might discussion play in our opening time together? What advantages/disadvantages

might this have for us as a council of the church?

• If we need help with topics or resources, who might we ask?

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Appendix 1:

Serving Holy Communion

Revised by the Worship Working Group in April 2015

(A paper prepared by the Assembly Commission on Liturgy in April 1984 and updated in 1999.)

In the two Uniting Church Services of the Lord’s Day, the rubric says the distribution of the bread and wine

shall be ‘according to local custom' (UIW 2, p.182, 221). But how many local customs are there? What is

involved in each custom? And what is the devotional significance of each custom?

This paper is an attempt to list the most common practices in Uniting Church congregations today, to

describe them and to make a brief comment about their significance. Some people long for an acceptable

way of distributing Holy Communion as long as the one custom that emerges is the traditional practice of

their former denomination or the practice of a particular congregation!

The view of the Worship Working Group is that we should all rejoice in this rich diversity of local custom,

that we should all be familiar with the various ways in which other congregations serve Holy Communion,

and that every congregation should have some diversity of practice within its own sacramental life.

General guidelines for all methods of distribution

1. The Church Council should determine the type of bread and wine used at the Lord's Supper and the

manner of the distribution. It is to be hoped that such decisions will not be made, or established

practices changed without appropriate consultation with the meeting of the Congregation. The

Eucharist is the central act of worship in the congregation. Whenever it is celebrated, it should be in a

spirit of joy, wonder and reverence. The way in which a communicant has been accustomed to coming

to the Lord's Table is an important part of that person's devotional and spiritual experience. If people

feel that strange new customs are being imposed upon them, it will not promote a spirit of joy and

wonder. Unless proposed new ways of conducting the distribution are explained and illustrated, a spirit

of reverence will be over-shadowed by an atmosphere of confusion. Most people are willing to

embrace new customs if they can contribute to decision-making processes within the congregation and

if devotional and liturgical explanations are given. It can also be very helpful to actually illustrate the

proposed new method. This could be done at a Meeting of the Congregation or at an after-church

meeting on the Sunday prior to the congregation's next celebration of Holy Communion.

2. It is recommended that each congregation should practise more than one method of distribution, and

there should be at least one method from both Group A and Group B (see below). Many congregations

that are the union of two or more former congregations resolved this matter at the time of their coming

together; the decision to use more than one custom was symbolic of their commitment to grow

together. Other congregations, unaffected in their local community by the Inauguration of the Uniting

Church, have voluntarily chosen to embrace another custom that was not a part of their former

denominational tradition. The Working Group encourages all congregations to follow this example.

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3. Some congregations with a dual practice alternate on a monthly basis between one custom and the

other, referring to one custom as 'Served today around the table'; and to the other custom as

'Served today in the pews'. This may be the best plan for many congregations. However, it does rather

suggest an attempt to keep an even-handed balance between 'the Methodist way' and 'the

Presbyterian and Congregational way'. Another possibility is to take up a practice in the early church of

adopting a different posture for the varying seasons of the Christian year: e.g., kneeling for Advent and

Lent (the penitential seasons); standing for Christmas, Easter and Pentecost (the festival seasons); and

remaining seated for Maundy Thursday and the remainder of the Christian year (the Sundays after

Epiphany and Pentecost being the seasons for nurture in faith and growth in Christ).

4. Lay people should assist the minister on all occasions when the congregation celebrates the Eucharist.

It is Christ who presides at his table, and he acts and speaks through everything that the

congregation does in obedience to his commandment. While the minister and the elders may

participate and lead the worship in special ways, it is Christ's celebration of his presence in the whole

congregation. Lay people should share in the liturgy of the whole service, and not just in the distribution

of Holy Communion. It is appropriate for the presiding minister to begin and conclude the service, and

to lead the worship for the 'Confession' and 'The Great Thanksgiving'. Some parts of the service are

considerably enhanced by the participation of lay people; e.g., a lay person reads 'The Institution of the

Lord's Supper', when this is not included in the “Great Prayer of Thanksgiving’, and the minister in this

case continues with the words beginning, “And so according to our Saviour’s command, we set this

bread and this cup apart… ” (UIW 2, p.164, 211) All Christians share in the one ministry of Christ.

However, in most congregations, it is the Church Council which shares with the minister the

responsibility of ordering worship and inviting people to participate in its leadership. The minister and

the Council should exercise sensitivity in asking particular people to lead in particular ways. For

example, it is not appropriate to invite a person who is not a confirmed member and communicant to

lead in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper or to distribute Holy Communion. In the following

descriptions of the various methods of distributing Holy Communion, the word 'elder' is to be

understood as meaning ‘elders and other lay people'.

Group A - Coming forward to the table

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR METHODS IN THIS GROUP

• Coming forward is a re-enactment of the day of our confirmation or adult baptism when we

pledged our allegiance to Christ.

• We are a pilgrim people, on the way to our promised inheritance; and on our pilgrim journey Christ

feeds his baptised people.

• Our coming forward to be fed by Christ at his table foreshadows our going out to live for Christ in the

world. Faithful discipleship involves a willingness to 'stand up and be counted'.

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METHOD 1: KNEELING OR STANDING IN GROUPS

After the words of the 'Invitation', the minister receives Holy Communion at his/her own hands. The minister

then serves those assisting with the distribution (elders, stewards and organist). The stewards usher-

controlled numbers of people in groups to the communion rails or other convenient standing place.

Usually, the minister serves the bread, saying - if he or she wishes - 'JOHN or JANE, the body of Christ keep

you in eternal life'. The communicant should hold out the flat palm of a hand to receive the bread -

"Make of your left hand a kind of throne by placing it under your right hand, which is about to receive

the King, and in the hollow of your hand receive the body of Christ, replying 'Amen'." (a 4th century Bishop

of Jerusalem.) The elders serve the individual cup or chalice. If there is no provision for placing individual

cups on the rails after use, other elders or stewards may collect them in separate trays. If there are no

communion rails, the glasses will always need to be collected.

The people eat and drink as they are served. Those who want to come forward but are unable to kneel

may either stand at the rails or sit in the front pew. Afterall have communicated, the minister dismisses the

group with a Scripture sentence and/or a blessing, e.g., 'Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life".

Go in peace to serve the Lord'. The people return together to their seats while the second group is ushered

forward by the stewards. After all the groups have come forward, the minister and an elder take the

bread and wine to those who are physically unable to gather at the table.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (for the minister) It is Christ, not me, who is presiding at the table. First I am served by Christ before I

serve others.

• (for the elders and stewards) First we are served by Christ through the hands of the minister, then

we serve others in the name of Christ.

• (for the people) Christ is serving us through brothers and sisters who with us are Christ's body

in this congregation. We must now go out and stand in the front-line of this congregation's service

for Christ to the world.

• Kneeling - a sign of our humility before God and our dependence on Christ.

• Standing -our pilgrim journey will take us along the road of a new week of challenges and

opportunities for service and witness.

METHOD 2: CONTINUOUS LINE

The same steps as in Method 1, except that the people rise from the communion rails or move off from

their stationary position individually, and not as a group. Consequently, there is no dismissal by the

minister. The stewards usher-controlled numbers of people forward into the aisles, and the people wait at

the sanctuary end of the aisle until there is an empty space at the rails or in the standing line.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

• We belong to God's family and we are all gathering at the one table and sharing in the one

bread. But individually we are all members of the one body and individually we must make our

personal response to Christ, sometimes being prepared to stand alone in the world for him.

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METHOD 3: CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT

The same steps as in Methods 1 and 2, except that the minister and elders stand at appropriate locations in

the sanctuary and the people move from the place at which the minister is serving the bread to the place

where the elders are offering the cup. This method is recommended on occasions when there are

hundreds of communicants. There should be a reasonable walking distance between the place where the

bread is served and the place where the cup is offered. As a general rule, there should be two or three

elders offering the cup for every minister offering the bread. Another advantage of this method is that a

choice of chalice and individual cup can be offered. With several areas offering both bread and cup at each

location, it is possible to serve a large crowd of people with order and dignity in a short period of time.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

As in Method 2.

METHOD 4: INTINCTION

The same steps as in Method 3, except that the minister and an elder stand only a few feet apart. The

minister gives the communicant a wafer or breaks off a piece of bread from the common loaf or a slice of

bread and says the appropriate words of distribution. The communicant then moves to the elder who is

holding the chalice and the Communicant himself/herself dips the bread into the wine while the elder says

the words of distribution. There are advantages and disadvantages with this method. The advantages are

that large numbers of people can be served in a short time; that because the chalice or cup is not put to the

lips, there can be no grounds for the fear of spreading infection; and that because less wine is required,

there is less of a problem of reverently disposing of what remains of the consecrated elements. There is

also much less washing up for the stewards. The disadvantage is with the suitability of ordinary table

bread. In churches that use intinction, the bread used is invariably the unleavened wafer or unleavened

Jewish matzo. Even though our Lord instituted the sacrament during the Week of Unleavened Bread - and

would therefore have used unleavened bread, many of our people feel that the bread used at Holy

Communion should be what is for us today the normal bread of our meal table. If leavened bread is used, it

is important that it be of a firm texture.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

• Christ's death and resurrection are inseparably united in the one act in salvation history.

METHOD 5: SITTING OR STANDING AROUND THE TABLE

This method requires adequate room around a free-standing table and/or a sufficiently large table. Sitting at

table involves a slower movement but is a helpful method for small groups or house communions,

celebrations of the Eucharist during a camp or conference, or on an occasion such as Maundy Thursday

night. This method has some similarities with other methods listed in Group A, in that people come forward

to the table in groups and are dismissed in groups. It also has much in common with these methods listed in

Group B, in that the people serve one another. No elders are required for this method, but stewards will

be needed to usher people forward in groups.

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SITTING: The minister sits with the first group. The minister serves the person on the right. The minister

then passes the plate to the person on the left, who then serves the minister. Serving one another then

continues right around the table in a clockwise direction. When the plate has been returned to the minister,

it is returned to the table and the chalice or cup is taken. When all have communicated, the minister

dismisses the 'table' with a blessing, as in Method 1. For the next and subsequent 'sittings', the minister

serves the person on the right, then passes the plate and chalice to the second person on the left, who then

serves the first person on the minister's left.

STANDING: The minister receives Holy Communion in both kinds. The minister then moves into the circle

and enables the plate and chalice to be shared with all in the circle. First, the minister serves the person on

the right, then passes the plate to the second person on the left. When several people have received

the bread, the minister takes the chalice from the table and enables the cup to be shared, even though

others further around in the circle are still communicating in the bread. Each group is dismissed with a

blessing when all have communicated. For both sitting and standing in this method, the stewards join

the last group at table. It is appropriate for words of distribution, such as, ‘The body of Christ' to be said

by members of the circle as they serve one another.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• Those set out below in Group B.

Group B - Remaining seated in the pews or seats

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR METHODS IN THIS GROUP

• We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Serving one another is a symbolic expression of our

corporate sharing in the priesthood of Christ, mediated through his church.

• In the act of serving one another, we are offering Christ to our neighbour.

• We serve our neighbour before we are served by our neighbour. It is because Christ has come to us

as the servant Lord that we are enabled to put the needs of our neighbour before our own self-

interest.

METHOD 6: PEOPLE SERVING ONE ANOTHER IN REVERENT SILENCE

After 'Lamb of God', the minister communicates in both kinds at his/her own hands. The minister serves

the elders who are seated if possible behind and around the table and facing the people. Normally, the

elders would be seated at the table from the beginning of 'The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper'. The

minister then gives the 'Invitation' as in 22 (UIW 2, p.182, 221) or says appropriate words, such as: 'Take and

eat: the body of Christ which is broken for you: do this in remembrance of him'. And then: 'This cup is the

new covenant in the blood of Christ, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins; drink

from it, all of you.' The elders then serve the people by taking the bread and wine to the pews or seats.

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The elders do not serve the people individually, other than perhaps the first or last person in a pew or

row of seats. If the congregation is large and there are a sufficient number of elders and servers, it is

customary for half the group to take the plates to all the pews and the other half of the elders to

distribute the cup. The distribution of the cup may follow a minute or so after the bread has been served.

In smaller congregations, it is usual for all the serving elders to take the plates to all the pews before they all

share in the distribution of the cup; in this case, the minister does not say: 'This cup is the new covenant in

the blood of Christ...' until the elders have returned to the table after distributing the bread. For the sake of

good order at the Lord's Table, it is customary for the elders to stand in their place as a group after they

have all communicated. The minister then takes the plates from the table and hands them to the elders.

When all elders who are distributing the bread have received a plate(s), they move together into the

congregation. When all the people have communicated, the elders move as a group from the back of the

church and return to the table where the minister receives back the plates and places them on the

table. The same procedure is followed with the distribution of the cup. While the elders are distributing

Holy Communion to the people, the minister may be seated behind the table. The elder takes the plate or

tray to the first pew and hands it

to the second person from the aisle. That person then serves the person in the aisle seat, by offering the

plate of bread or tray of cups. The second person passes it to the third person who then offers it to the

second person. This method is recommended only where there is an aisle at the other end of the pew and

another elder in that aisle to serve the last person in the pew. If the pew ends at the wall, the plate is

passed straight to the second last person. That person serves the last person. The second person then

passes the plate or tray to the third person from the wall, who serves the second person. When the elder

receives the plate or tray back, the elder serves the person on the aisle seat.

The procedures outlined above may need some variations to suit the arrangement of seating in some

churches. However, two important guidelines should be observed on all occasions: first, people do not

serve themselves; we serve our neighbours then we are served by another neighbour. Second, in no

circumstance should the place or tray of cups be passed backwards from one pew or row of seats to

another. It is impossible for people to serve those sitting behind them in a meaningful and dignified way, and

such a practice invites the risk of an accident with the consecrated elements.

METHOD 7: ELDERS SERVING THE PEOPLE IN REVERENT SILENCE

This method is possible only if it is convenient for the people to be seated in alternate pews or rows. The

movement of people into alternate rows should take place at the beginning of ‘The Sacrament of the

Lord’s Supper' possibly immediately before or after the singing of the communion or offertory hymn, and not

just prior to the Distribution. The minister says the words that are appropriate for receiving the body of

Christ. Alternatively, if it is desirable for there to be no other spoken words during the whole of the

distribution, the minister says words that are appropriate for receiving Christ in both the bread and wine (as

outlined in Method 6). Everyone receives in reverent silence. The minister receives Holy Communion in

one or both kinds at his/her own hands. The minister serves the elders in one or both kinds. The elders

then serve the people by moving along the vacant pew or row. At no time do they put the plate or tray of

cups into the hands of the people.

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An alternative practice with this method is that the minister does not say the appropriate words about

receiving Christ before the Distribution begins. Instead, the Minister says the words of distribution to the

elders individually as the minister serves them. The elders follow this example as they serve the people

individually in the pew.

METHOD 8: PEOPLE COMMUNICATING SIMULTANEOUSLY

After the 'Lamb of God' (UIW 2, p.181 220) the elders rise from their seats, arranged behind and around the

table. The minister takes the plates from the table and gives them into the elders' hands. The elders serve

the people by taking the bread to the people in the pews or rows of seats. As in Method 6, the people

serve one another; they do not serve themselves. Unlike Method 6, they take the bread into their hands but

do not communicate by receiving it into their mouth. When all the people have received the bread into their

hands, the elders move as a group from the back of the church and return to the table, where the minister

receives back and places all but the last plate on the table. The elders sit down together and the minister

receives them. The minister sits down and one elder stands, takes a plate from table and serves the

minister. All having received the bread into their hands in reverent silence, the minister stands and says

appropriate words for receiving the body of Christ.

The whole congregation - minister, elders and people - then communicate simultaneously. After a short

period of silence, the elders stand and the minister gives the trays of cups into their hands. The same

procedure as above is followed with the distribution of the wine and the drinking simultaneously.