Dear Liberty Church,
As we come near to the end of the Gospel of Luke during our Sunday morning worship, we also come to the first Sunday of the month of August, and in case some of us have forgotten, this is when we traditionally have had the Lord’s Supper. Due to COVID, we have not administered communion since March, in an effort to do all we can to mitigate the spread of infection. This has been necessary, but also quite unfortunate. The Lord’s Supper is not an optional add-on to our worship service, nor is it a suggestion from our Lord. It is a vital component to our faith. I am not suggesting that we have necessarily lost faith these past few months due to the absence of communion, but I am suggesting that we have not strengthened our faith as much as we could have due to its loss.
The Session has discussed this matter in depth, and we believe the time is now to reinstate communion this Sunday, August 2nd. This process will certainly look different than how we have done it in the past. More instructions will be given on Sunday, but in brief, I would like you to know that rather than serving the elements to each of you, we have purchased pre-packaged bread and wine, and each member will come forward at the appropriate time to pick up the elements themselves, in order to minimize contact as best as we can.
We also realize that there are many of you who are still leary of returning to corporate worship, and this is completely understandable, but we still want you to have communion as well. In order to facilitate this, the pastors and elders have decided that they will remain after the service for 30 minutes, in the parking lot, to serve communion to any member who comes to the church. We will have a table set up for you to come and receive the bread and wine, but even if you do not feel comfortable getting out of your car, we can come to you and serve you there. We feel that communion, shared with the Body of Christ, is this important that we would make such arrangements.
As our study of Luke comes to a close, I would like to leave you with this thought: it is the Lord’s Supper that actually culminates Christ’s redemptive work, and not the resurrection, which we will be looking at this Sunday. Why do I say this? Because the Lord’s Supper, taken in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the ongoing covenant renewal that seals Christ’s redemptive work for the church, concluding Christ’s work both at the cross and at the empty tomb. Let us come and participate in this wonderful sacrament that not only gives us hope in a resurrected Christ, but also strengthens our faith as we follow Him here on earth.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nathan