June Communion Training Introduction Does your Church have problems finding qualified Teaching Elders to serve the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper?

June Some congregations are consistently without full or part time ordained service, and because of their location, have few Teaching Elders available to serve the sacrament in a timely and regular fashion.

June In order to ensure that the Word is rightly preached and the sacrament is served in a regular and timely fashion, Ruling Elders, chosen by their Session and with the consent of the Committee on Ministry, can be trained to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in the absence of a Teaching Elder or an installed Certified Ruling Elder.

June These are unique moments in the life of congregations, and to lessen the stress and assist the session in fulfilling its obligation, Great Rivers Presbytery provides training to those persons so that they can comfortably and confidently share the invitation, to those in worship, to come to the Lord’s table and eat and drink.

June The training begins with a deeper understanding of the Lord’s Supper and the significance of the bread and cup. It proceeds to look at the liturgy of communion and the place it has in the entire liturgy of the worship service.

June For congregations who have a need for this training and certification, the training concludes with hands-on rehearsal, allowing each selected elder to gain a feel for standing behind the table and serving the sacrament to the people.

June Is this for You? If Not for your congregation at this time, we recommend your session use power point presentations 1 and 2 to familiarize Elders about the Sacrament of Communion.

June Is this for You? Possibly If you and your session feel this is something for your prayerful study and consideration, there are three power point training aids available to help you make a determination. Printed and other versions may also be available.

June Once you have determined this is something which would benefit your congregation, and have one or more Ruling Elders who wish to complete training and receive approval from the Committee on Ministry, contact Great Rivers Presbytery office to start the final step of this process.

June There is no cost to the Ruling Elders or to their congregation for this training. Before you start the training, please get your Bible as there are Scripture references for you to read throughout the training.