Following my ordination on 5th July, we are starting a new Holy Communion schedule in the parish. From August there will be Holy Communion in Cootehill on the 1st Sunday of the month, Kill on the 2nd Sunday and Ashfield on the 3rd Sunday. However in July there will be Communion in Cootehill on the 12th July.
We are also going to start using the chalice once again and will discontinue using the little cups. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, as Anglicans this is the normal practice based on the Last Supper when the disciples shared the common cup together.
Secondly, we live in an increasingly individualistic culture, where people have their own private individualistic experiences of life and as a result community suffers. This thinking can seep into the minds of Christians as well, and we can start to think that we can just have our own individual experience of God and don’t need to go to Church. But in the Bible, believers not only knew God for themselves but also did so together in the context of Community. In the Bible there is no such thing as a believer experiencing God by themselves without other believers. Taking the common cup together reflects this idea – that we are a community which together worships God.
Thirdly, while the bread and the wine are symbols of Christ’s body and blood, and we feed on him by faith, the bread and the wine are also set apart as special when we celebrate communion. It is good to treat them reverently and I am keen to avoid the mess of spilt wine that the use of the little cups can sometimes produce.
I am aware that some of you may prefer to not take the chalice and that is absolutely fine. If you do not wish to take it, please just cross your arms across your chest when it is offered to you. It has always been the tradition of the Anglican Church that only taking the bread at Communion is still sufficient and that the wine is optional.
Obviously, if you have a cold or feel unwell, do not take the chalice that week and likewise, if I have a cold, I will take the chalice at the end of Communion instead of at the beginning. If you have concerns about the chalice spreading germs, I would emphasise that silver is antibacterial and the wine at communion is extra strong with a high alcohol content and microbes are therefore unlikely to survive, so there is little danger of cross infection. If at all possible, I would encourage you to take the chalice as a sign of our communion with Christ and with each other.
And just a final word. The communion table around which we gather is not a Church of Ireland table, it is the Lord’s table. All who are baptised, have made Jesus Christ their Lord and have prepared their hearts, are welcome at that table.
I am looking forward to presiding at Communion as we celebrate together the victory of Christ’s resurrection together.
Michael
Parish walks
The parish walks over the Summer, will continue on a monthly basis on the second Thursday of each month at 7pm. July: Thursday 9th in Dartrey Forest. August: Thursday 13th: Halton’s
Safeguarding
There will be the annual Safeguarding Panel meeting on Thursday 23rd July at 8pm in Cootehill church hall.
Girls Friendly Society
Please keep the parish GFS branch in your prayers over the Summer as it prepares to reopen at the end of September. Pray for the volunteers as they organise things, that the GFS will be a place where girls can experience faith, fun and friendship together in the years ahead.