August 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A couple months ago, I asked the Parish Council to think back to their earliest memory of Holy Communion. What is your earliest memory of Holy Communion? Mine is going early to church with my dad to watch him fill the communion cups with a little squirt bottle. I did not receive Holy Communion until my confirmation day. And I never knew at that age why this was so important, but I did know that it was something special.

So then I asked the Parish Council another question and I ask you this question, “What does Holy Communion mean to you? Why is it important to you?” Many of the answers that I heard were, “It is a Holy Meal.” “I am receiving the forgiveness of my sins.” “It spiritually nourishes me.” If you are thinking along the same lines, then I wonder what is so special about the first and the last Sundays of the month. What makes these particular Sundays more special than the rest of them? Going all the way back to the Early Church, it is a common understanding that every Sunday we celebrate Easter, the Resurrection of Our Lord. And as Carl writes in his article this month, we do celebrate not only the Resurrection of Our Lord every Sunday, but we also celebrate Holy Communion. This is a celebration, a Holy Meal, a time where heaven and earth come together, and an opportunity for us all to physically receive and inwardly digest the forgiveness of our sins.

For the whole month of August, we will be celebrating Holy Communion at all of our worship services, each week. Week after week in August, in the Gospel readings from John, Jesus continually refers to himself as the Bread of Life. The Bread of Life that nourishes us, feeds us, forgives us, and saves us. So it is most fitting for us during these coming weeks to celebrate with all of the saints who have gone before us and celebrate with all of our fellow members of the Body of Christ.

Come, join us in August as we celebrate the grace that God has given us through simple, everyday items like bread and wine. The picture of the chalice, wheat and grapes is a stained glass window in Trinity’s sanctuary. Come to the banquet, that foretaste of the feast to come

In Christ,

Pastor Anthony