RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

himself, excluding and excommunicating a part of
himself.” 3
We take this seriously. When Disciples attend a
church service in which there is no observance of the
Supper, or in which participation in the Supper is
limited to a select few, we can often hear the
comment made: “I don’t even feel like I’ve been to
church.” Quite frankly, still in the feeling mode,
when we are denied access to the Table, we begin
touching deep-seated notes of anger.
And that reality might help us to understand how we
began two hundred years ago. So let us remember
that Barton Stone found himself in difficulty with
his Presbyterian denominational power structure
because of his radical freedom of thought, and his
practice of an “open” Table. Thomas Campbell was
called to task in part because he committed the sin
of offering the Lord’s Supper to people who were a
part of the main body of Presbyterians, not just his
Seceder Presbyterians. Alexander Campbell found
himself compelled to walk out of a communion
service in his (and his father’s) denomination, the
Anti-Burger, Seceder, Old Light Presbyterians
because of the barriers put up between the people
and the Table.
The birth of the Disciples thus began around
issues of the Table, particularly the belief that the
Table belonged to the Christ, and to all who
followed him.
That’s where we came from. And now, two centuries
later, and two hundred years down the road of the
ecumenical movement, we still find the Christian
community divided most obviously and painfully
when we come to the Table. For theological and
historical reasons, we are not permitted to share at
the Table with many of our sisters and brothers in
the faith. This break in fellowship can never be
acceptable, and must be seen for what it is: sin
against the very heart of the church.
And now, two centuries later, and two
hundred years down the road of the
ecumenical movement, we still find the
Christian community divided most obviously
and painfully when we come to the Table.
In the years to come, the Disciples are in a position
to be advocates for the unity of the faith particularly
as we accept the invitation to come to the Table. And
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we can never be satisfied with the “way things are”
when worship services include Holy Communion
for some, but not all. Or worse, worship services
which omit the Supper because of its “difficulties.”
And if we come to the Table of our Lord together,
then By God we had best treat other Christians,
other human beings with love and concern, as
family. If we truly are called by our Lord to the Holy
Table, then we must also work to make sure that no
barriers keep us apart. The barriers of nationalism,
race, economic status, gender, sexual orientation,
even creed, none of these can be allowed to stand
between us and the Eucharistic feast.
The ecumenical movement has a future only if we
accept God’s gift of unity, and work to manifest that
unity amongst all the peoples. As Thomas Campbell
proclaimed in his magisterial Declaration and
Address, God speaking through Jesus said that
wholeness, unity among the followers of Christ is
God’s express will that “they may all be one. As you
God, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in
us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
me.” (John 17:20-21, NRSV) To accede to a divided
church, a divided Table, is sin, sin that separates us
not only from one another but also from the Christ
himself.
Within the community of faith it is not only
possible, it is likely that there will be differences of
opinion on matters of ethics, and theology, even
over the Supper itself. However, when we permit the
gentle nudging of the Spirit to operate among us,
we will find ourselves led to places of power and
reconciliation.
If we are to be a part of God’s united church, we
must allow the Spirit’s power of forgiveness and
tolerance to live with us, within us, rushing over us
so that no opinion can overcome the unity with
which we have been blessed, unity that brings us
together at the Table of reconciliation and peace.
This will require humility of the first order. And we
will be called upon to live a tenderness and
generosity of affection for and with each other, even
as we experience such tenderness and affection with
those beside us and across from us at the sacred
Table.
There are many points of division within the church
today, and if we are seriously engaged in seeking to
live the unity of the church which God lays before
us, we will have some profoundly difficult moments.
If we think that we have the ability to overcome the
Harrison • The Lord’s Supper and Our Vision of Christian Unity Today