Holy Supper/Communion at Bryn Athyn Church

Holy Supper

The teachings of the New Church tell us that taking the Lord’s Holy Supper is “a most holy thing of worship” (True Christianity 709) and we want to support you in this important part of your relationship with the Lord.

This page is to help you understand when, where, and how you can take Holy Supper in Bryn Athyn. Some of this information is just a description of how we’ve done things for a long time; some of it is an explanation of some new approaches that we are taking, starting in 2023.

At the end of this page there are also discussions of How to Be Prepared to Take Holy Supper and When Should a Young Person Start Taking Holy Supper?

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Coordinated Holy Supper Services at All Services

It used to be that Holy Supper would be offered at the Cathedral Adult and Informal Family services, each on its own schedule. We will now be offering Holy Supper at all of our services on the same five days of the year so that people at the different services can have a sense of taking the Holy Supper (or communion) together on the same day.

A Note About Alternatives (Grape Juice and Gluten-Free Bread)

There are people who feel strongly that alternatives to wine and unleavened wheat bread should not be offered and there are people who feel strongly that alternatives should be offered. The Bryn Athyn Church has tried to accommodate both of those groups in a variety of ways over the years. In 2023 alternatives will always be on offer at Informal Family Holy Supper services and at the Young Children's Holy Supper services and alternatives will sometimes be on offer at the Family Cathedral Holy Supper services and the Adult Cathedral Holy Supper services. Please see the upcoming dates to see what will be on offer when.

Upcoming Holy Supper Dates for 2023

June 4th

  • Informal “Family Holy Supper” Service - 9:20am (alternatives)
  • Family Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 9:30am (no alternatives)
  • Young Children's Holy Supper Service - 10:00am (alternatives)
  • Adult Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 11:00am (no alternatives)

September 10th

  • Informal “Family Holy Supper” Service - 9:20am (alternatives)
  • Family Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 9:30am (alternatives)
  • Young Children's Holy Supper Service - 10:00am (alternatives)
  • Adult Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 11:00am (alternatives)

November 12th

  • Informal “Family Holy Supper” Service - 9:20am (alternatives)
  • Family Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 9:30am (no alternatives)
  • Young Children's Holy Supper Service - 10:00am (alternatives)
  • Adult Cathedral Holy Supper Service - 11:00am (no alternatives)

Holy Supper at Informal Family Service

The Elements

  • Wine and unleavened wheat bread and grape juice and gluten-free bread are always available at all Informal Service Holy Supper services.
  • The unleavened bread is made with wheat flour, olive oil, salt, and water.
  • The gluten-free bread is made with 1-1 King Arthur gluten-free flour blend, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and water. It will be labelled and also is typically lighter in color.
  • The wine is a rosé.
  • The grape juice is a red grape juice and is typically darker than the wine.

Format

Holy Supper at Informal Family Service happens in a couple of different formats:

Family Holy Supper 

For these services unleavened bread, gluten-free unleavened bread, wine, and grape juice are laid out on benches and whole families are invited to come up together. Adults and children are welcome to take the elements (children are discouraged from taking the wine) and the whole family receives a hands-on blessing from the minister. In 2023 there will be Family Holy Supper services on June 4th and November 12th.

Adult Holy Supper 

For these services the Holy Supper elements are offered to adults, once the children have gone out for their refreshments, or in a service that is just for adults, like the Maundy Thursday service. People taking the Holy Supper come forward and sit at tables, take the elements in communion with others, and receive a hands-on blessing from a minister. In 2023 there will be Adult Holy Supper services on April 6th and September 10th.

Feast of Charity 

For these services the whole service is designed around descriptions of “feasts of charity” from True Christianity. Everyone has a potluck meal together and take the Holy Supper elements as part of the meal. In 2023 there will be a Feast of Charity Holy Supper service on January 8th.

Holy Supper at Family Cathedral Service

The Elements

  • Wine and unleavened wheat bread are available at all Family Cathedral Holy Supper services.
  • Grape juice and gluten-free bread are available at some Family Cathedral Holy Supper services (September 10th in 2023). When alternatives are on offer they will be brought on a separate labelled plate or tray.
  • The wine is an unfortified, organic red wine with no added sulfites.
  • The unleavened bread is made with wheat flour, olive oil, salt, and water. The grape juice (when on offer) is a red grape juice.
  • The gluten-free bread (when on offer) is made with 1-1 King Arthur gluten-free flour blend, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and water. It will be labelled and also is typically lighter in color.

Format

Holy Supper will be offered as part of the regular service. The talk from the minister will be shorter on these Sundays. After the sermon there will be a hymn. We encourage those that are not taking Holy Supper to still stay in the service to witness other people taking the sacrament.

The minister will do a reading about Holy Supper and then dedicate the elements. After a prayer, people will be invited to come forward with the words, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God” (Revelation 19:7).

People will then come forward down the central aisle and take the Holy Supper in groups or “tables”. If your knees can handle it, you can come forward and kneel at the Holy Supper rail. If you can handle a couple of steps but can’t kneel, you can come forward and sit in a row of chairs that is a few feet before you get to the rail. If you can’t come forward, please try to sit in the front few pews and the ministers will bring the elements to you there. The ministers will bring the elements down to those in the pews during the first table. This means that those in the first table will be kneeling for longer. Bear this in mind if you can kneel but not for too long. The ushers will help you to know whether there is space for you at the rail with a given table. If the group fills up, they may ask you to sit down again to wait until there is space for you.

We are inviting whole families to come up together. The adults and older teens are invited to take the elements, in consultation with their parents. Younger children are encouraged to wait to take Holy Supper until they are closer to adulthood. (See "When Should a Young Person Start Taking Holy Supper" below. Children are allowed to have the bread and grape juice at other services.) The bread will be brought first. You can take it from the common plate or in an individual COVID-safe cup. Next the wine will be brought. Again, you can drink it from a common cup or from an individual cup. After that, a minister will come and do a hands-on blessing on the whole family.

Finally, the minister will say a blessing on the whole table and that will be the signal to return to your pew via the side aisles and for the next table to come forward. As you head back to your pew, please leave your cups on the trays in the side aisles.

After the final table has returned to their seats there will be a final prayer and blessing on the whole congregation and the closing of the Word.

The Value of Having Children Witness and Be a Part of This Service

Having children come up to the rail will mean that things will potentially be a bit more wiggly and noisy. We believe that that cost is worth it to have the children get to witness the Holy Supper up-close and to receive a blessing with their family. If you would like a more serene experience of taking Holy Supper, we invite you to attend the Adult Cathedral Holy Supper Service at 11:00am on the same day.

Holy Supper at Young Children's Service

The Elements

  • Wine and unleavened wheat bread and grape juice and gluten-free bread will always be available at Young Children's Holy Supper services.
  • The unleavened bread is made with wheat flour, olive oil, salt, and water.
  • The gluten-free bread is made with 1-1 King Arthur gluten-free flour blend, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and water. It will be labelled and also is typically lighter in color.
  • The wine is an unfortified, organic red wine with no added sulfites.
  • The grape juice is a red grape juice.

Format

Young Children's Service is a short and sweet service, aimed at little children and their families and we don't want to lose that with the Young Children's Holy Supper service. At the same time, we do want to offer the adults that attend this service the chance to take Holy Supper, even in the midst of the busyness and distractedness of the phase of life that is being a parent of little children. We will try this service for the first time on June 4th, 2023 and keep it the same or modify it based on the feedback of the people who attend on that day.

For June the plan is to have the service outside, and have a long low table with the small chairs around it. On the table will be unleavened bread, gluten free bread, and grape juice in little paper cups. The minister will briefly tell the story of the Last Supper and invite the children to sit around the table, pass around the bread and grape juice (with help from parents) and have a little Passover meal (leaving out the lamb and bitter herbs). Then the minister will explain how we do the Holy Supper, have the children all return to their parents, dedicate the elements and pass the bread and wine around to all the adults - who will be sitting all around in a semi-circle the way that we usually do it outside. When the bread and wine have all been passed the minister will go around for a blessing for each family.

Holy Supper at Adult Cathedral Service

The Elements

  • Wine and unleavened wheat bread are available at all Adult Cathedral Holy Supper services.
  • Grape juice and gluten-free bread are available at some Adult Cathedral Holy Supper services (April 6th and September 10th in 2023).
  • The wine is an unfortified, organic red wine with no added sulfites.
  • The unleavened bread is made with wheat flour, olive oil, salt, and water. The grape juice (when on offer) is a red grape juice.
  • The gluten-free bread (when on offer) is made with 1-1 King Arthur gluten-free flour blend, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and water. It will be labelled and also is typically lighter in color.

Format

It used to be that there were two different formats for Holy Supper services at the Adult Cathedral Service. There will now be just one format, as described below (the one exception is the Maundy Thursday service, which is a stand alone service).

Holy Supper will be offered as part of the adult service. The sermon will be shorter on these Sundays. After the sermon there will be a hymn. We encourage those that are not taking Holy Supper to still stay in the service to witness other people taking the sacrament.

The minister will do a reading about Holy Supper and then dedicate the elements. After a prayer people will be invited to come forward with the words, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God” (Revelation 19:7).

People will then come forward down the central aisle and take the Holy Supper in groups or “tables”. If your knees can handle it, you can come forward and kneel at the Holy Supper rail. If you can handle a couple of steps but can’t kneel, you can come forward and sit in a row of chairs that is a few feet before you get to the rail. If you can’t come forward, please try to sit in the front few pews and the ministers will bring the elements to you there. The ministers will bring the elements down to those in the pews during the first table. This means that those in the first table will be kneeling for longer. Bear this in mind if you can kneel but not for too long.

The ushers will help you to know whether there is space for you at the rail with a given table. If the group fills up, they may ask you to sit down again to wait until there is space for you.

The bread will be brought first. You can take it from the common plate or in an individual COVID-safe cup. Next the wine will be brought. Again, you can drink it from a common cup or from an individual cup. After that, a minister will come and put his hands on your head and say a short blessing. Finally, the minister will say a blessing on the whole table and that will be the signal to return to your pew via the side aisles and for the next table to come forward. As you head back to your pew, please leave your cups on the trays in the side aisles.

After the final table has returned to their seats there will be a final prayer and blessing on the whole congregation and the closing of the Word.

Holy Supper at Your Home

Have a Minister Come to Your Home or Bedside

Maybe you are away when we are offering Holy Supper or maybe you can’t make it to a service in person. One of the Bryn Athyn Church pastors would be happy to come offer you Holy Supper at your home (or hospital bed or wherever). Please contact us at churchoffice@brynathynchurch.org or (215) 947-6225 to schedule a time that works for you.

Take Holy Supper While Watching Online

Another option is to take Holy Supper at home while attending a Holy Supper service via live stream. You can make Holy Supper bread at home using the recipe below or you can contact the church office about picking some up (churchoffice@brynathynchurch.org or (215) 947-6225).

Recipe for Holy Supper Bread (serves about 4)


Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup (rounded) wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp ice-cold water
Instructions
  • Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  • Mix 1/4 (rounded) cup wheat flour with 1/4 tsp salt.
  • Add 2 tbsp olive oil and mix until oil is fully incorporated.
  • Add 1 tbsp ice-cold water and work the dough until it all comes together. You want a dough that is sticky enough to hold together but dry enough not to stick to your hands.
  • Flatten into a 4mm thick circle on a baking sheet. You can use two sheets of parchment paper and a rolling pin or even just a flat bottom pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Holy Supper at Cairnwood Village

Holy Supper with Rev. Jeremy Simons is offered at Cairnwood Village (www.cairnwoodvillage.org).

Holy Supper will be offered at 10:00AM on January 4, April 5, June 14 and also in September and December (dated TBD).

Contact the manager at (215) 947-7705 or cairnwood.village.manager@gmail.com to find out when the next Holy Supper service is happening and to let them know that you’re planning on coming.

How to Be Prepared to Take Holy Supper (by Rev. Malcolm Smith)

Will you be ready to take Holy Supper when it is offered? The teachings of the New Church are clear that we should prepare to take the Holy Supper.

Before people of the highest office and rank come to a dinner at the table of an emperor or monarch, they put on their best clothes and their badges of office in order to be allowed in and be well received. Why should we not have to prepare for the table of the Lord, who is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings (Revelation 17:14)? (True Christianity 724)

But what does appropriate preparation for the Holy Supper look like? I’ll share a few thoughts here but my first recommendation would be to read the chapter from True Christianity on Holy Supper (698-730), particularly the sections towards the end of the chapter about taking the Holy Supper worthily (719-730). I would also recommend reading the Rt. Rev. Peter Buss, Sr.’s 1975 New Church Life article, “Come Not to That Holy Table” (PDF).

We are taught that we should go through a more careful self-examination and repentance process, once or twice a year in connection with taking the Holy Supper (True Christianity 567:5) but I don’t think that this means that we should only take Holy Supper once or twice a year. The Lord told us to take Holy Supper “in remembrance of Him” (Luke 22:19) and we need to remember Him throughout the year. We also need to be fed by Him throughout the year and throughout the many states we go through. The angel of the Lord came to Elijah when he was fleeing from Jezebel and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” And Elijah did arise and eat twice and only then “he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:7,8). Holy Supper is not only to be eaten when repentance is over, when the journey is done. The only way we are going to have the strength for the journey of repentance in front of us is if we have been fed by the Lord’s love and wisdom.

I hope that you consider taking Holy Supper more than twice this year. If you would like to discuss Holy Supper and being worthy to take it or anything else connected to it, please get in touch with me or any of the other pastors on staff. (malcolm.smith@brynathynchurch.org) For more discussion of the question of when one is worthy to take Holy Supper, read the next section on when to start taking Holy Supper.

When Should a Young Person Start Taking Holy Supper? (by Rev. Malcolm Smith)

(Some of this was first sent out as a Pastor's Box. It has now been significantly modified.)

As with many topics, there are a range of useful perspectives on this question. This is not an official policy decision from Bryn Athyn Church; this is Malcolm, as one of your pastors, sharing a few passages and thoughts in response to that question.

The passage that most clearly discusses age and taking Holy Supper is True Christianity 729, which says, “People who die as children (infantia) and teenagers (pueritia) and do not reach the age at which they could come forward worthily to take the Holy Supper are made a part of heaven by the Lord through their baptism instead.” This passage does not specify what age a person must be to come forward worthily to take the Holy Supper but it does, perhaps, imply that there is an age.

Secrets of Heaven 10225 is a good passage to read about different stages of life. It talks about the 20th year (or after a person’s 19th birthday) as the age when a person begins to think for themselves. Similarly Secrets of Heaven 2280 says that from the 20th year, a person “begins to become rational, and to have the faculty of reflecting upon good and truth, and to procure for themselves the good of intelligence.” It seems like that might correspond to taking the Holy Supper.

Along these lines, I was also struck by True Christianity 721—the passage that talks about baptism and Holy Supper being "two gateways to eternal life." It compares these two gateways to various things including this: "our education from childhood to the age at which we become independent and able to judge things for ourselves, and then our rational and spiritual life after that." This connects Holy Supper and being able to judge things for ourselves in my mind. It then goes on to say, "In each case the one phase has to come first before we can come into the second, because the second would be impossible if we had not undergone the first. These comparisons serve to illustrate that baptism and the Holy Supper are like two gateways that bring us to eternal life. Beyond the first gateway there is a field we have to cross in order to reach our goal of the second gateway, where stands the prize that we have been aiming for." This suggests to me that it is appropriate to have some distance between when someone is baptized as an infant and when they start taking the Holy Supper. There is a field we have to cross.

On the other hand, here is a useful perspective another minister shared with me:

I think we should not be too strict about welcoming young people who feel affirmative to approaching the Lord in faith from partaking. And I think offering the bread on occasion to children (along with instruction in worship) is useful.

On the worthiness issue, I think the danger is not in coming not-yet-worthily, but in coming un-worthily.

The UNworthy are those who come to the Holy Supper hypocritically (cf. Secrets of Heaven 3513:2, 4601:3), who confess the Lord with the mouth only and practice charity with the body only (True Christianity 723), doing so in a "merely natural" way, their heart being "far away" (True Christianity 726), who close heaven to themselves by rejecting faith and living in evil (True Christianity 720), rejecting the three essentials (Lord-charity-faith), including acknowledging God (True Christianity 722-723). This state does not happen by gradually gliding into it, but by choice.

It’s true that children are not yet able to come worthily to Holy Supper (True Christianity 721). But note, that passage does not say that children are forbidden to come to the Holy Supper before they become worthy—i.e. that they must wait until they can come worthily.

We can benefit from Holy Supper more and less, depending on our state (True Christianity 701:2):“[The sacrament of the Holy Supper is like a house full of jewels and treasures.] ...When the house has been opened [by a knowledge of the spiritual sense], and everyone is given permission to enter, ...the custodian supplies from it to some a loan, and to others presents a gift, to each according to his rank. It is said ‘a gift from it,’ because the valuables there are inexhaustible, and are continually supplied. This is true of the Word with its spiritual contents, and with the sacraments with their heavenly contents.”

In this same vein, another minister shared this perspective:

True Christianity talks about a "habit" (699) of going to the Lord's table from the time of childhood (a pueritia). But it never says that's an incorrect or disorderly habit; instead (as I read it) it goes on at length with ways to infill that habit with a better understanding of, and thus access to, the usus fructus of the Holy Supper... even going so far as to say: "...if anyone is so simple as to be unable to think from his understanding of anything except what he sees with the eye, I advise him, when he takes the bread and wine and hears them called the Lord's flesh and blood, to think within himself of the holy supper as the holiest thing of worship, and to call to mind Christ's passion, and His love for man's salvation. For He says: 'Do this in remembrance of me,' (Luke 22:19)." (True Christianity 709) I have read this as setting a very low threshhold for useful participation in the Holy Supper. And it seems that these things that we are advised to be thinking about here... are well within the reach of many youngsters not yet 20.

Practically speaking, people of all ages will be allowed to have unleavened bread (or gluten-free bread) and grape juice at Informal Family and Young Children's Holy Supper services and teenagers with their parents' permission (and anyone older) will be allowed to take the elements (or the alternatives, if available) at Family Cathedral and Adult Cathedral Holy Supper services.

Setting aside the question of people younger than 19, if you are 19 or older and have not yet taken Holy Supper, I would encourage you to prayerfully consider taking it. If you have children who are 19 or older who have not yet taken Holy Supper, I would encourage you to have a conversation with them about it. Please let me know if you or someone you know would like to talk to a pastor about this. I would love to have that conversation, as would all the other pastors. (malcolm.smith@brynathynchurch.org)