Resources For The Service Of The Table
In the early church, worship consisted of both Word and Table. The Word proclaimed the saving deed of God in Jesus Christ, and the Table was the response of thanksgiving (Eucharist is the Greek word for thanks). During medieval times, the Roman Catholic church did not maintain the ancient balance of Word and Table, allowing the reading and preaching of the Word to go into decline. The Protestant Reformation restored the Word to its rightful place in worship and sought to maintain the ancient balance of Word and Table. Unfortunately the Reformers' wishes in this regard were left largely unfulfilled, and among Protestants, the Table of the Lord has been celebrated infrequently and without adequate understanding. However, as worship renewal seeks to recover the worship of the early church, both Word and Table are receiving new attention from Catholics and Protestants. Contemporary worship renewal has recognized the need to recover the experience of resurrection joy at the table while not …
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Chapters & Articles in Resources For The Service Of The Table (23)
The acts of worship at the Table of the Lord enact the story of how God in Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a sacr…
The New Testament uses four terms to describe worship at the Table: Breaking of the Bread, the Lord's Supper, Commu…
From the very beginnings of Table worship, its various parts have been discernible. The service of the Table orig…
The oldest prayer of Thanksgiving is found in Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition, dated about a. d. 215. Because H…
The following is an example of the Lord's Supper as it might be conducted in a contemporary church such as a creati…
At the Table of the Lord, the church recalls God's saving acts in Christ and experiences the benefit of healing. …
The arts are vehicles of communication. They are not used for their own sake, but rather a means through which an e…
The taking consists of bringing the bread and wine to the Table, where the elements are prepared by the presider. T…
The ascription of praise is a statement made by the minister that signals the beginning of the service of the Table…
The offertory hymn expresses the action of bringing bread and wine and of coming to the Table of the Lord. Exampl…
The following instructions are especially suited for liturgical churches. However, contemporary churches may adapt …
The examination of conscience before the Table is used when there has been no confession of sin in either the acts …
The blessing, which is also known as the eucharistic prayer or prayer of thanksgiving, originated from the Jewish B…
The following examples are intended to provide the reader with a sense both of the structure and of the content of …
Traditions that do not use fixed prayers may follow the suggestions below: Begin with thanks for the goodness of G…
Not only is Christ the broken bread: the church also is to become the bread broken for others. In the early churc…
In liturgical churches, the breaking of the bread is accompanied by a litany of response between the celebrant and …
Before the distribution of the bread and wine, the celebrant, holding up or indicating the gifts, invites the peopl…
The giving of the bread and wine is the action of Christ communicated through human hands and speech. The Common …
The words of reception are those words of faith said by both minister and people at the giving and receiving of the…
The Communion song is sung by the congregation during the reception of bread and wine. One of the most important …
The church has always practiced anointing with oil for healing. Renewing worship connects the rite of healing with …
The concluding prayer of the Eucharist is a laudatory statement of praise. Following the primitive model of the Jew…