News for September 5, 2024
Hi everyone! I hope you were able to enjoy holiday Monday, and that this week is going well for all.
Over the past few days, I’ve had the chance to browse the historical pamphlets that are being prepared for our 100th anniversary celebration next week. It’s certainly been an interesting exercise, learning more about the many wonderful milestones in our church’s history—along with some of the more mundane developments and the humorous moments along the way. Thanks so much to Hilary Blair and Judy Thompson, especially, for their tireless work to put these materials together for us. I look forward to the conversations that will be generated when everyone has the chance to read through the stories and examine the pictures.
One of the things that caught my eye this week was some information on communion sets and other sanctuary furniture. Did you know … that our church’s first “proper” communion set was donated to us by Vancouver First Baptist Church, early in our history? To help our growing church continue sharing the Lord’s Supper together, a new set was donated by one of our members in 1953. Then a new communion table was presented to us by Trinity Baptist Church in 1955.
This might not seem like a big deal today. We often share the Lord’s Supper together by coming to the front and dipping a piece of the bread into a common cup. It’s a wonderful way to symbolize our common life in Jesus. It’s also pretty simple from an “equipment” standpoint: we need 3 attractive large cups plus three plates to distribute the wafers.
But most of us can remember when it was normal for every Protestant church to have a set of large, fancy silver trays covered with custom slots to hold dozens of identical individual cups, usually designed to stack neatly without falling over, alongside a smaller set of matching silver plates for the bread. To honor the importance and solemness of the Supper, the sets had to be beautiful and shiny, and they had to be large enough to ensure that the whole congregation was served. That also was a meaningful way for us to participate together. (Perhaps we’ll follow that format again now and then—I’m pretty sure we still have the old-style communion sets in the office.) However, it was an approach that required a lot of time and loving labor, and the equipment could be expensive. So it was a big deal when a church or an individual was willing to donate the apparatus to a church. These were gracious and sacrificial acts which made it possible for us to share together in the wonder of the Lord’s Table as part of our worship.
That’s really the main thing that struck me this week: gracious acts of giving fellowship—of partnering together in practical ways—made it possible for us to participate in this important symbol of our fellowship with each other and with our Lord. The kindness of individuals, and of other churches, has enriched our worship. It’s something to be thankful for. And it’s an attitude we always want to cultivate ourselves. Perhaps in the days to come, there will be more opportunities for our church to bless other congregations with the good things that we have to offer. (We’ve done that in the past, too. For example, when we moved into our current church building, we donated the pews from our old facility to Aldergrove United Church.)
Perhaps I noticed this small but meaningful theme in the archives because I knew we will be joining together in the Lord’s Supper this Sunday. We don’t plan to use the big silver set this week, but it will be good to remember our Lord’s death and resurrection in this tangible, shared manner again as we take the bread and juice. May we all be freshly aware of His presence as we gather.
Speaking of Sunday, if you want to read ahead in preparation for this week’s message, you should consider reading Eph 4:1-16. We’re not going to do a full-blown “fall kick-off” this year, since much of our focus this September is on celebrating our 100th anniversary on the 15th. However, it still seems appropriate to spend a little time reflecting on the nature of Jesus’ church this week, in anticipation of the celebration of our own church’s birthday the following Sunday.
Well, that’s the news for now. Have a wonderful week! Special prayers for all those who are back to school, and for others whose yearly rhythms kick into gear again now that September is here.
Richest blessings, and hopefully we’ll see you Sunday!
Pastor Ken