Communion Is Bigger Than Our Own Table
Communion is bigger than our own table at Arvada Covenant Church.
When we gather for communion on the first Sunday of each month we are fulfilling the call of Christ to acknowledge the New Covenant and to remember His sacrifice on the cross. This sacrament provides us with an opportunity to “examine ourselves” and “confess our sins” before we take the bread and wine/juice and “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.“ It is also worth remembering that we are joining with the Church around the world each time we gather for communion. We are continuing the same way Jesus’ followers have been acknowledging, remembering and proclaiming for centuries. We are a literally and spiritually a part of a much bigger table
In 2022, Arvada Covenant Church began serving a different kind of communion wafer. The change was the result of a discussion and an awareness that our communion table could be a time to represent the bigger kingdom. Communion at ACC is still a personal opportunity to experience God’s presence and healing from our broken ways but now the wafers connect us to people in the world who are experiencing God’s presence and healing in ways that are different than ours. Purchased from the Evangelical Covenant Church, which is our denomination, the thin, gluten free wafers are hand made by Covenant women in India.
Covenant World Relief & Development has been partnering with the Hindustani Covenant Church and Covenant Social Service in India since 2006 to bring hope and restore dignity to women who are rescued from human trafficking. These members of God’s beloved Kingdom are survivors of the violence of sex trafficking. The Hindustani Covenant Church in India works to combat sex trafficking by providing holistic services where the women participate in their own empowerment and transformation. Through the making and the selling of these communion wafers these women are learning new job skills, and together with other personal development support and services, they are finding new ways to support themselves and their families.
As we partake in communion, may we remember these beautiful women in India and all those who remain trapped in a cycle of trafficking locally and globally. Someday we will enjoy communion with them and with Jesus when He returns. The table really is bigger than we think it is.
CWR – Communion Wafers Video from CovChurch on Vimeo.