THEY BELIEVE IN BOTH WORD AND DEED
What Presbyterians Believe
Communion
[May 1995 Presbyterian Survey*]
* Now Presbyterians Today
The Lord's Feast
When we partake of the bread of life and the cup of salvation
we are empowered for Christlike living.
By Melva Wilson Costen
We trust in God the Holy / Spirit . . . who . . . feeds us / with the bread of life and the cup of salvation . . . " These words from "A Brief Statement of Faith" reiterate the importance of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for Presbyterians. They affirm that the initial action of this divine meal begins with God. God in Jesus the Christ offers the bread and the cup and bids us come.
The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of
continuous growth, nourishment and new life.
For Presbyterians this divinely initiated meal is one of two sacraments of the church, instituted by God and commended by Christ. We are following in the tradition of the early church when we affirm three primal material elements of life--water, bread and wine--as the primary symbols of offering life to God. Being washed with the water of baptism, we receive new life in Christ. In eating the bread and drinking the cup offered by God, our memory of the promises are made present by the Holy Spirit.
SHALL I GO ON