By Isaiah Core

In 1936 the Presbyterian Church first celebrated this denomination-wide liturgical holiday which started at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. “World Communion Sunday” has been celebrated on the first Sunday of October since and is a 90-year-old tradition. This year it will be observed on Sunday, Oct. 4. Communion is one of the central tenets of Christianity. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters believe Holy Communion to be one of seven sacraments of the church.

Protestants believe it is one of two along with Baptism. World Communion Sunday is a celebration of our unity within Christianity. It doesn’t matter if you attend a Roman Catholic or local Cowboy Church, Communion is one of the few elements of our faith that unites us as believers in Christ. There are some experts of the Christian religion who estimate the number of denominations in the 30,000’s. Most of these denominations are separations due to a difference in dogma.

As Christians, one of the things we should be actively pursuing is ways to connect to other believers who are different than we are. Roman Catholics are vastly different than Lutherans, but they still share Holy Communion as a sacrament. Recently, we’ve seen the separation of many United Methodist churches and the creation of the Global Methodist Church. These two groups are both Methodist at their core, even if they hold differences in dogma. 

One of the biggest struggles of people who have no religious affiliation is the paradox of two churches who claim to be “True” but deny another’s presence or faith journey. Anyone who reads the words of Jesus in the four Gospels knows that institutional churches contradict the risen Lord on several subjects. I don’t say that to ostracize any one tradition, but I want to point out that Christians have been dividing for the last 1,700 years. Even with all our divisions, we have universally maintained unity in Communion.

For a portion of us we are united by shared dogma, others are united in spiritual practices. I implore you to stop looking for what separates you from other Christians and find ways to connect across denominational lines. Christians don’t need to agree on everything. But we do need to see how faith from our tradition can inspire others, and faith from other traditions can create curiosity within ourselves. 

 I challenge members of all churches in the area to participate in Holy Communion at your regular weekly service this coming Sunday. Honor the Holy Meal as your tradition dictates and pray for bridges we can build between each other.. The thin places are where we meet Jesus the Christ. If we are authentic in our pursuit of unity, the people around us will take notice and respond to what we are doing. 

Isaiah Core is Secretary/Lay leader at Westminster Presbyterian Church. He and his brother Daniel are third generation owners of Instrument Maintenance Co., Inc. headquartered in Abilene.