Who can be a part of our Communion services?        

Anyone is welcome to receive Communion, as long as they have made a personal decision to follow Jesus Christ.

‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’ 1 Corinthians 11:26

Jesus directed his followers to participate together in the celebratory supper remembering his death until he comes again in glory.

• We remember who he is!
• We remember who we are!
• We remember what he did!
• We remember what he does!
• We remember that he is coming back!

Communion is a celebration for those who have decided to follow Jesus. Paul asks us to examine ourselves before taking Communion. If we feel guilty about something we pray to God and say sorry. If we don’t feel guilty about anything we probably should do. None of us is perfect, and if we were we would probably be proud and that would be wrong. Taking Communion is rather like going to see a doctor. We don’t go to see a doctor when we are well, but when we know we need to be better and are ready to accept help.

If you are not sure about your own faith just let the bread and wine pass you by. No one will think any the less of your actions.

We welcome any visitors who are Christians to share in Communion with us, as we are all part of the same body of Christ.

Children and young people

At High Street Baptist Church we welcome children and young people to share Communion with the rest of the church, about five times a year.

Historically, in Baptist churches children are not normally present at Communion, and it tends to become something of a ‘mystery’. The children see the table laid, but they never see the action of eating and drinking. In our church, we want our children to be a part of that service, so we thought it would be helpful to introduce the children to the Lord’s Supper by occasionally bringing the children back into church for the Communion service.

We ask that children remain with their parents or a responsible adult for the whole of the Communion service unless otherwise directed by the celebrant. Children are welcome to receive Communion at the discretion of their parents or a responsible adult. Some of the older children may be asked to share in the distribution of the bread and wine.

We do not expect very young children to understand or take Communion. It is for parents who are committed Christians to decide when they think their children are ready to take bread alone or bread and wine.