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Worship Held With World In Mind

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By SARAH ROTHWELL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - The Rev. Charles Ringe considers Communion an important part of the Christian experience.

On Oct. 7, he led services for World Communion Day at Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church. The event included the passing of nine breads created with recipes from around the world.

'Communion is the receiving of Christ's physical and internal being. It is symbolic,' Ringe said. 'The breads are a visual reminder of the love of Christ that reaches around the world.'
World Communion Sunday originated in the Presbyterian Church and was first celebrated in 1936.

Services are held worldwide the first Sunday in October annually.

TTPC's World Communion Day services began with a presentation of the breads. Congregants presented them one by one and spoke about the countries, regions and continents represented. Among those were the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Brazil, Nigeria, Honduras, Australia and North America.

'I offer this pita bread in honor of the people of the Middle East, where our faith and those of two others originated. May they and we find a way to live together in peace,' Gloria Kares said.

Church members then recited a confession beginning, 'God of manna and God who is the living bread, we confess that we take both for granted.' Congregants were affected differently by the services. Some bowed their heads; others cried.

'It was very moving,' Jody Lowry said. 'I teared up.'

After the presentation of the breads and an opening prayer, Ringe began his sermon, 'Bread, or Bread of Life?' He spoke about Jesus' role to fill the soul rather than the stomach. God knows what people need, not just what they want, he said.

'Jesus is a spiritual leader, not a physical one,' he said. 'He wants to give us something to sustain our spiritual life. He is the bread.'

After Ringe's sermon, the congregation took Communion, consuming the international breads and juice representing the blood of Christ.
World Communion Day 'helps us to realize there's more to Christianity than just our congregation,' said elder Andy Stanley.

Member Sara Powell, who made the Liberian rice bread, agreed.

'It was a wonderful experience,' she said.

Five of the breads presented were made by members. Susan McNaught made Bavarian date bread. Paul Thanasides made banana bread and corn bread.

The pita and sourdough breads were purchased.

After church services, the loaves were served at coffee hour. As members gathered to relax and unwind, they sampled the spread. They also shared coffee and doughnuts.

Lowry arrived at coffee hour recharged.

'Communion is a time when I feel very close to God,' she said. 'It helps me reset my emotional clock. At this Communion, I thought about the people in each different part of the world, and I felt very connected.'

Ringe considered the service a success. He hopes more churches in the area will pick up on the idea and celebrate the significance of Communion. The message reaches across borders, he said.

'We may live in different ways and in different conditions, but we have one God that unites us,' he said.

Reporter Sarah Rothwell can be reached at (813) 865-4845 or srothwell@tampatrib.com.

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