Plan Now: World Communion Sunday is this Sunday!

This coming Sunday is World Communion Sunday.  While this program is interdenominational in nature, United Methodists have long been active participants in this effort to promote the oneness of the body of Christ around the world.

There are many ways in which a congregation can celebrate World Communion Sunday.  One way is to incorporate some of the music and liturgy ideas included in this extensive list of worship resources for World Communion Sunday compiled by the General Board of Global Ministries and this list compiled by the General Board of Discipleship.  Worship using elements of traditions other than one's own can not only be a refreshing change of pace for a congregation, it can remind us of the breadth of cultures included in God's people.

Another important way in which congregations can participate in World Communion Sunday is to contribute toward the World Communion Sunday special offering.  This offering goes to support World Communion Scholarships, the Ethnic Scholarship Program and the Ethnic In-Service Training Program.  These important programs help develop leaders for congregations around the world, as can be seen in this story about one such leader in the United States and Mexico.

In keeping with the spirit of this blog, another possible way to celebrate World Communion Sunday is to reflect on or discuss as a group what it means to be in communion with others around the world, both other United Methodists and other Christians in general.  Look through the archives of this blog to get ideas or starting points for such discussions.  Such conversations can help us think about how to take the principles of unity we celebrate in worship and practice them in our common life together.