OPEN TABLE

Last Updated on Saturday, 11 May 2013 11:30 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 01 November 2011 14:42

At St. Paul’s we practice an "open table" policy in which all people, regardless of age or status in life, are welcome to receive the Holy Communion. Such a practice is consistent with Jesus' actions in the gospels in sharing table fellowship with all kinds of people, including those seen by his culture as undesirable or unclean/impure. We assume that if someone comes to Church—a countercultural act in our increasingly secular society—it is because the Spirit of God has moved them to come. It is the Lord’s table not ours; all who come with a sincere heart are welcome.

Some parents may feel uncomfortable allowing their children to receive Holy Communion because they are too young to fully understand what they are doing. But children are aware instinctively that something special is happening—something that all of us will spend our whole lives trying to understand. Jesus said: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14b). We recognize that it is a parents' decision to determine the age at which their child should begin to receive Holy Communion. However, consider the effect on a child who sees others participating in communion while they are told they cannot. A child should never remember a time when they were excluded from the Table of the Lord.