Holy Communion (Stone 5)
The Objective of this Stone:
To teach the origin of Holy Communion from Passover to Last Supper, to teach how forgiveness comes through Christ’s gift, and to call parents and children to recommit to FAITH5 every night, saying “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.”
What Is It?
A three-session course for children and parents in the church and community titled Holy Communion.
What’s the Purpose?
To add confession and absolution to the nightly bedtime ritual, along with the reading of one Bible verse each night, the sharing of highs and lows, prayer, blessing, and putting children to sleep with music featuring God’s Word; to teach the importance of living a forgiving, forgiven lifestyle; to teach the meaning of Holy Communion as a preparation, preview or review for children and parents.
Who Owns It?
A Theme Team of people who love God, enjoy preteens, and are willing to set up and lead a three-session course.
How Long Does It Last?
Three 1 1/2 hour sessions.
When Does It End?
The sessions conclude in worship with a Stepping Stone Blessing Liturgy Service and Holy Communion where parents and children serve one another. You can cut and paste the service we give you if this will not be a First Communion service. (If you do this right, it continues every night in every home with parents and youth saying “I’m sorry” before they turn out the lights on the day.)
PRINTABLE FACT SHEET
Download a detailed printable PDF description of “Holy Communion (Stone 5)”.
Detailed Description:
Understanding the power of the Sacrament and regularly practicing the art of living a forgiven lifestyle is the focus of Stone 5. Invite guests to experience the power of asking for, and giving, forgiveness. By the time children reach this age, parents have more than ample reason to initiate and experience a practice of nightly forgiveness in their homes. Aside from simply instructing students on the meaning of Holy Communion, why not add this important gift to the family before adolescent hormones kick in?
Session 1: Passover to the Lord’s Supper
We will teach the Biblical roots of Holy Communion from Passover to the Last Supper during the first session. Many people know that Passover exists, but few actually know why it exists. A description of the Passover as it is described in Exodus will reveal that God saved the Children of Israel by using the plagues to defeat Pharaoh. It was the final plague, killing the firstborn of the Egyptians that finally pushed Pharaoh to let the Children of Israel go.
Session 1 will also describe the Biblical foundations of the Last Supper and how it has become our remembrance of Jesus and of living a forgiven lifestyle. We will describe historical accounts of the practice of the Lord’s Supper and also what it looks like today.
Session 2: The Meaning of the Meal
The second session takes a look at the meaning of the meal in various faith traditions. Significant questions will be answered by utilizing music, drama, and more to teach the same idea. The questions asked in Session 2 include: Who started it? Who is it for? and What is it? From there, we’ll look at definitions and significant terms that we hear in regards to Holy Communion. Finally, you may take the time to look at various practices and beliefs about Holy Communion around the globe. All of these teaching moments are aimed to give families a foundational understanding of Holy Communion so when they take part in the Meal, there is an emotional connection.
Session 3: Living Forgiven
In the final session, we will stress the importance of saying “I’m sorry” each night and teach a simple confession/absolution ritual for families to do every night in every home. We’ll look at what it feels like to carry around the burden of holding a grudge or knowing that you have hurt someone. Guests will understand that not forgiving or asking for forgiveness causes stress and pain like a sliver: if you don’t take care of it, it can get infected and cause even more pain. We’ll show families how to practice confession and absolution every night so that nobody goes to bed without offering forgiveness or asking for forgiveness (when needed). This simple family faith practice will pay off in dividends when adolescence hits!
This Stone ends in worship with a family communion service where parent serve their child first communion and children serve parents. If your congregation does not have youth this age partaking in Holy Communion, simply make it into a Blessing Service that calls families to pledge to confess and forgive each other each night, and to continue the nightly faith practices of highs and lows, Scripture, talk, prayer and blessing.
The Graduation Quilt
Symbols representing Holy Communion are added to the panels of the Graduation Quilt panel. Ideas include a chalice, a dove, bread & wine, and a cross. See if families and your quilters club can come up with other symbols that represent living a forgiven, forgiving lifestyle.