Communion

With church buildings closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, pastors and congregations are getting creative with online worship and even Holy Communion. Computer image by Pexels, courtesy of Pixabay; communion elements photo by Mike DuBose, UM News; illustration by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Both green light, red light for online communion

COVID-19-related meeting restrictions have prompted debate about and experimentation with online communion in The United Methodist Church. Bishops have offered varying instructions.

Mission and Ministry

The congregation of Finnsnes United Methodist Church in Finnsnes, Norway, joins passengers from the Hurtigruten commercial ferry in lighting candles in memory of loved ones to celebrate All Saints’ Day. Photo by Lise Løvland.

Norwegian church provides communion at the harbor

All Saints’ Day tradition connects congregation and community, offering people ‘a chance to see holiness in their own everyday lives.’

Mission and Ministry

Communion is not an individual, private sacrament, rather it is celebrated by the whole gathered congregation. Photo by Diane Degnan, United Methodist Communications

Ask The UMC: Can we celebrate communion at home?

Communion is a celebration of the whole congregation. Learn why that is.

This 1869 oil painting by German artist Christian Carl August Noack depicts the Colloquy of Marburg, where Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli hotly debated how Christ is present in the Eucharist. The fight ultimately led to the first split among Protestant reformers. Public domain image from the Gymnasium Philippinum, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Reformation lessons for United Methodists

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation is this year. In their fight over Holy Communion, early reformers offer a lesson in how not to handle disagreement.

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