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Our children baked bread for World Communion Sunday.   I was told the large piece of bread is a giant fish. (?)   Not sure how it will taste, but it will definitely be a source of great interest during the liturgy on Sunday.

How are you doing with planning and writing for Sunday?  Are you preaching on Moses striking the rock?  The question of authority in Matthew?   The great passage  in Philippians on emptying oneself?  Or are you going with the Narrative Lectionary and the conversation between God and Moses?  Here are links to the wonderful commentary on the lectionary passages here: RCL commentary and Narrative Lectionary commentary.   Are you observing World Communion Sunday in some way?  Have you developed a new liturgy to share? (asking for a friend, of course….).  What about a children’s sermon?

We are here to support each other in our preparations for Sunday, so please, post in the comments below how things are going for you!

Rev. Karla Miller is the Minister for Community Life at Old North Church UCC in Marblehead, Massachusetts.   She is also a contributor the RevGals book, There’s a Woman in the Pulpit.

RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. We do not grant permission to cut-and-paste prayers and articles without a link back. For permission to use material in paper publications, please email revgalblogpals at gmail dot com.

25 thoughts on “11th Hour Preacher Party: World Communion!”

  1. We will be having bread from many different countries and each person may take a loaf home. The prayers will be in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and words of institution in Hebrew. Music will have a global orientation as well. This may sound like we have a large church but we only number about 50 on Sunday.

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    2. Hi All, You can call me Pat. For some reason Word Press won’t let me use my real name so I had to come up with something else. Didn’t realize I’d always be “revgramma” here.

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  2. Episcopalians, at least in my experience, don’t recognize World Communion Sunday. But where I am we are in our 4th week of Season of Creation (although we have developed our own liturgy and use the regular RCL not the creation materials and readings)….that said I am working to draw connections between the devastation from the recent hurricanes, earthquakes, and monsoon flooding to an idea that is raised in the reading from Philippians and alluded to in Matthew, an idea which came from a question in Feasting on the Word (for Philippians) which is “Does the world see Christ in us?” I’m wondering if the world sees Christ in us, in Christians, in our response to the the environment, to devastation and natural disasters, in our response to gun violence, in our response to care for and concerns for the language used today when we talk about issues but never listen to one another because we are too busy drawing lines of polarization, when we name call and blame and shame…I may go back and forth between the phrase “Either you’re with us or you’re against us” and the question “Does the world see Christ in us?”…I also have a funeral today. And the blessing of the animals tomorrow. I am all over the place.

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    1. Hey Terri! I didn’t know that Episcopalians didn’t do World Communion. Thanks~~good information to have. I hope that you post your sermon later~~the question, “Does the world see Christ in us?” is so intriguing. Blessings on all the the places your ministry takes you in the next two days.

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  3. I am not preaching tomorrow, as I am at the synod meeting- NSW/ACT Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia. 4 days of meeting, reports, worship, conversation. Hopefully some decisions by Tuesday afternoon.
    And tonight, Saturday, daylight savings starts , which means one hour less sleep, except we have no meeting in the morning so we can worship with local congregations, but I think I will sleep in and have breakfast with my husband, who is also a member of the Synod.

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    1. Hi Pearl! I love denominational gatherings, in spite of when the business can get bogged down. I also say kudos to you for sleeping in and taking time with your husband. Sabbath on the Sabbath.

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  5. I have a pan of Scottish shortbread in the oven as I write. I’ve also purchased a loaf of German rye bread. Other people will bring other breads. We’re having a multi-lingual call to worship.

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  6. Our six year old son woke at 7:30 looking at cupcake recipes. This is good since our daughters’s cross country meet is in the afternoon today. So, we have cupcakes, fried egg whites, and peppered bacon with lots of coffee and Orange Juice.
    We are doing World Communion Sunday. I’ll have a variety of loafs at the communion table. Scripture is Psalm 78. Sermon title, “Build a Longer Table”. I’m sharing communion stories from all over the world and all generations. I’m finishing with the story of a young child when she is offered the elements, “The Body of Jesus for Mae Joy” with a loud cheerful voice, “For me? For me?” May we all come to the table with the same amazement as Mae Joy.

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  7. When my youngest daughter was four (long before Divinity School for me) we were sitting close to the front and she heard the words of Institution, probably for the first time. When it came to “this is the blood……..” in her little girl voice she literally screamed, “OH YUCK!” Ever since then – well, ever since I’ve been ordained, I try to explain about “blood” and “life” in Hebrew and how close bread and life are phonetically in Hebrew. The whole thing makes more sense to me in Hebrew, but then…………..Whatever you are doing and wherever you are tomorrow, may you be blessed abundantly! Pat aka revgramma

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      1. Yes, it’s me, Pat. Wanted to reply to revsarag, too! I love what you’re doing. Always wanted to bake bread during a sermon. I’ve heard of some women doing this but never figured out the logistics. When I was at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, we had a bread baking ministry. When you came into church the place was filled with the wonderful aroma of bread baking.

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  8. I do not have to preach. On this day, we worship with the other four mainline churches in our little town. This year, it coincides with the visit of the bishop of our Diocesan partner parish in South Sudan. So, he will be preaching.

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  9. I just have to do something very short (3 min) to go with our annual blessing of the animals at two services. I’ve done basic Francis and Clare bios plenty of past years, including various stories about them, so trying to figure out something new. Anyone have ideas?
    I love all the World Communion Sunday stories, and I’m wondering how, as an Episcopalian, I might pick up on this next year.

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  10. Tired and frazzled, as I am in the midst of moving to a new apartment. Have the bones of the service with a World Communion theme – one mind (Philippians) leading us to one bread and one cup – sending us out as one body. Still have the old apartment to finish cleaning, the slide show to polish and proof, and then a World Communion edition of Messy Church to polish up for tomorrow afternoon. That I am looking forward to. We will bake bread, crush grapes for juice, add a craft and games for fun then celebrate at the table together. It’s going to be a late night, but I hope a good day tomorrow. I do have some pumpkin donuts to share.

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    1. revsarag, I will take one of those pumpkin donuts, for sure! I am sorry that you are frazzled with moving. Prayers for energy for you.

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  11. I have no idea what the Communion stewards have prepared for World Communion Sunday – could be lots of kinds of loaves, or just the one gluten-free … but the liturgy will certainly remind us that we are one in Christ. I am trying to find last year’s PowerPoint of all the greetings that a RevGalBlogPal gathered from around the world, but that isn’t making itself known, either. The sermon is from Philippians, reminding us that following Jesus is not tied to our effort so much as it is tied to claiming that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ http://wp.me/p2U45T-oT

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  12. We provided an opportunity for people to share favorite memories of Jesus – doing this in remembrance! It’s always encouraging to hear other people’s stories about what Jesus did in Scripture that moves them, and what Jesus is doing to move in their lives.

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