Communion Experiences, for Crowds Large and Small

When I first saw the pictures of white umbrellas at the national Lutheran youth gathering, I thought that people were waiting for mass transit in the rain.  Then I read the captions and realized that's how people found their way to a communion station.

At first, I was simply impressed with the simple solution to what could be a logistical nightmare:  how to get 30,000+ people communed in a huge setting.  And then I thought about the symbolism of the umbrella.  Neat!

Our communion yesterday was much simpler.  At our interactive service, we moved from our discussion table to the communion area where we stand in a semicircle as the bread and wine are consecrated.

As we walked to the table which serves as our makeshift altar, one of our members' young grandsons asked, "Where are going?"

"To communion.  Do you remember what that is?"

"Sure.  It's where we get bread, except without the butter or cream cheese."

We all smiled--he's got part of the idea.  In some later year, he'll have a different experience of communion to be sure.

In fact, as I'm reflecting, he had a different experience at the later service yesterday.  He carried the tray that holds small cups of white grape juice or red wine.  His grandmother stood behind him and said, "The blood of Christ, shed for you."  It was a much more formal communion experience.

I feel lucky to have had such a wide variety of communion experiences.  If I had to choose which ones were most meaningful?  Probably the ones that are part of retreats--more specifically, the Create in Me retreats.  But as soon as I choose that one, I think of others.

I realize that I'm lucky.