A MESSAGE FROM REV. LINDSEY ALTVATER CLIFTON: SHARED BREAD AT OUR TABLES
Greetings friends,
This Sunday, we join with congregations from a variety of denominations worldwide in participating in World Communion Sunday, which celebrates our oneness in Christ with siblings of faith all around the globe.
In 1933, Rev. Dr. Hugh Kerr began what was
then known as World Wide Communion Sunday at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. His son, Rev. Donald Kerr, shared this reflection in an interview: “The concept spread very slowly at the start. People did not give it a whole lot of thought. It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because we were trying to hold the world together. World Wide Communion symbolized the effort to hold things together, in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are one in the Spirit and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“The spirit caught hold because we were trying to hold the world together.”
I imagine those words could describe both the individual and communal experiences of that era, and they certainly resonate with our present moment, as well.
I wonder how sacred, bread-filled meals have helped you “hold the world together” in a spiritual sense? At the Lord’s Table or more ordinary tables. For me, I remember the love and belonging and ease that I feel whenever I think about my mom’s cornbread (moist and sweet, not dry and salty); my uncle’s hot, fresh yeast rolls at Thanksgiving; or our Afghan friends’ flatbread that accompanies every meal, including breakfast. What connecting, transformative experiences have you had around a table with shared bread?
These days, World Communion Sunday is celebrated with a distinctly collective consciousness about holding the world together. Beyond unity and interconnectedness, its contemporary commitment is to demonstrate that we, the church, are called together to share our God-given resources and gifts with generosity in a world that is increasingly unjust and inequitable, driven more by profit and greed than by global flourishing and the common good. It is a way for us to more fully experience and embody our call to be agents of God’s reconciliation and compassion, both in our communities and across the globe.
I’m grateful for Rev. Cynthia Simmons’ passion for observing World Communion Sunday, and for the thoughtfulness that she and Dave Macbeth have put into our worship planning for this week. I look forward to leading alongside Cindy as she preaches and sharing the Lord’s Supper with all of you!
In Christ,
Lindsey