A Plan for
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper
See the video for
this notice here. (8:37)
Holy Week is a special time that we greatly desire to
receive Holy Communion. We remember Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper at this
time, and we believe that in that holy meal he gives us the benefits of his
death and resurrection; forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
The COVID-19 outbreak has complicated the distribution of
the Lord’s Supper. Normally we celebrate during our public worship services.
With the stay-at-home mandate in effect, gatherings are still to be limited to
groups of 10 or less and a physical distance of a minimum of six feet is to be
observed. This is challenging for the distribution as I clearly get within six
feet of you to administer the Supper in our normal celebration of the Supper.
Several creative procedures for distributing the Lord’s
Supper have been suggested, and I appreciate the inspiration and the deep
desire to receive the Lord’s gifts. I would remind you that God has given us three
Means of Grace – three modes by which he delivers grace and forgiveness to us.
They are the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Just because we have been
deprived of the Lord’s Supper for the moment does not mean that we have been
deprived of God’s grace!
We have figured out a way that we feel is both safe from
spreading COVID-19 and allows us to gather in groups of ten, or less, to
receive Holy Communion. You can think of it as a kind of tailgate party with
the Lord’s Supper. It will work like this.
-
We will designate four parking spots in the lot
at church. There are four spots, but we will only have ten people at a time, so
if your family is big (like mine!) there may be only two or three vehicles. The
number of people is key, not the number of cars.
-
Imagine the main drive between the two sets of
double rows of parking. We will designate two spots on east, and two on the
west to park in.
-
The parking spaces are nine feet wide, so there
is sufficient space for the individuals to stand outside their vehicles.
-
I will stand in the middle of the four vehicles
with probably ten to fifteen feet between me and the participants.
-
The service will consist of the invocation,
confession and absolution, the Nicene Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Communion,
and a Benediction – probably about 15 minutes.
-
You must provide your own bread and wine, as
well as a cup (or cups) from which to drink.
-
You are welcome to use whatever bread you like,
although it should be a plain bread, not a raisin bread or pepperoni loaf. I
provided a recipe for the bread Katie Czirok usually makes in a previous email,
and I have included that at the end of this email as well, but any normal bread
will do.
-
The wine should be a grape wine – not some other
fruit or blend. (You are, of course, welcome to use grape juice if that is your
preference. It, too, should be 100% grape.)
-
The wine should be in a bottle with screw top. I
know that Sutter Homes makes small bottles which would be good for this.
-
If you use a normal bottle of wine, you must
consider how you will transport it home with you. I don’t want anyone to get
pulled over and ticketed for having an open container!
The long-range forecast indicates that Monday and Friday
will be the best days to try this. (Tuesday through Thursday are forecasted to
be rainy with scattered storms.) To set up a time for you and your family to
come in, please call Becka at 216.978.1764. (Notice that this is her cell phone
number as she is working from home.) If there is not enough time on those days
to commune everyone, we will follow up in the week after Easter, but my goal
will be to commune everyone who desires to receive the Lord’s Supper for Easter
on those two days.
I know this is less than ideal, and I appreciate your
willingness to be flexible.
God’s peace be with you!
Communion Bread
2 T.
Unsalted butter, melted
3 T.
Honey
1/2
C. Warm water
1/2
t. Salt
3/4
t. Baking powder
1/2
C. White flour (all-purpose)
1 C.
Whole wheat flour
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees. Blend wet ingredients together. Blend dry
ingredients together. Then combined the wet and dry ingredients. The dough will
be sticky. (I bake the “loaves” on a baking stone. However, if you don’t have a
Stone, you can bake the loaves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.)
On the prepared baking surface, divide dough into 4-5 circular loaves. Pat each
loaf 1/2 inch thick. Score each loaf with a “grid pattern” to make breaking
easier. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Recipe makes enough for approximately 100
people.
I
haven’t tried to reduce the yield of this recipe...I can tell you from
experience that “leftovers” are good with soup, or toasted with peanut butter
for breakfast!
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