Communion Blessing for Children

[johnc]

Is a communion blessing for children appropriate? Does your church practice it? What would you do if your church began the practice?

By communion blessing, I mean that the non-communicant children would come forward (assuming your church has communicants come forward) with their parents, and while not receiving the elements, would receive a short blessing from the pastor or elder distributing the elements. You can search on it to find more information. I did not provide links because I could only find questionable sources.

Thanks,

 

[Parakaleo]

Is a communion blessing for children appropriate?

The children are blessed by hearing the table address and observing the sacrament right from where they sit. A pastor could even speak to non-communicants and remind them of many things from the Word. However, adding on an extra ceremony to the worship service by having children come down and receive a special blessing is inappropriate and unlawful.

 

[yeutter]

In most Anglican Churches, both high church and low church, this has become standard practice. No rubric in the Book of Common Prayer provides for this.

 

[Edward]

I mean that the non-communicant children would come forward (assuming your church has communicants come forward) with their parents, and while not receiving the elements, would receive a short blessing from the pastor or elder distributing the elements.

Just another tradition imported from Rome, it seems. Non communicants at a Catholic mass can get a blessing from the priest.

It might not be a bad idea to examine the elders for Federal Vision tendencies.

 

[johnc]

In most Anglican Churches, both high church and low church, this has become standard practice. No rubric in the Book of Common Prayer provides for this.

I didn't realize that it was common in the Anglican church.

 

[johnc]

Just another tradition imported from Rome, it seems. Non communicants at a Catholic mass can get a blessing from the priest.

It might not be a bad idea to examine the elders for Federal Vision tendencies.

I had never heard of it until recently, but I did notice most web searches returned pages related to the Catholic church. I have not noticed any overt FV tendencies, but I do not understand FV theology well enough to notice more subtle cues.

I wonder if it (communion blessings) are gaining a foothold in other PCA churches.

 

[yeutter]

I didn't realize that it was common in the Anglican church.

Some think that the reason this novelty gained a foothold among both low church and high church Anglicans is a reaction to the liberal Episcopal Church practice of paedo-communion. Conservative Anglicans of all stripes believe someone should have made profession of faith and be confirmed before being admitted to the Lord's table.

 

[Edm]

I grew up in the Episcopal church and this was common. No paedo communion..

 

[Pilgrim]

Some think that the reason this novelty gained a foothold among both low church and high church Anglicans is a reaction to the liberal Episcopal Church practice of paedo-communion. Conservative Anglicans of all stripes believe someone should have made profession of faith and be confirmed before being admitted to the Lord's table.

From what I understand, there are a good many paedo-communionists (perhaps mainly former Presbyterians) in the Reformed Episcopal Church, which has also moved in a high church direction in recent years.

I think the first I heard of this was in an Eastern Orthodox service. And it is not only done with infants or children. I remember reading an account from someone who was a visitor at an EO service (an adult who was not in communion with them) who said that he went forward and received a blessing from the priest.

 

[reaganmarsh]

It's fairly common in mainline (read: moderate to liberal) Baptist churches as well. I don't recall seeing or hearing of such a practice in SBC churches.

Rev. Law is quite correct, though, in understanding it as violating the RPW, and thus being unlawful.

 

[Edm]

It's fairly common in mainline (read: moderate to liberal) Baptist churches as well. I don't recall seeing or hearing of such a practice in SBC churches.

Rev. Law is quite correct, though, in understanding it as violating the RPW, and thus being unlawful.

This is interesting to me. Maybe because the only Baptist churches I have ever attended were SBC whee the elements were passed down the pews on trays. In the churches you are referring to, do they go forward to receive communion? I can't picture a pastor making the rounds in the pews to bless children.

 

[Parakaleo]

In the churches you are referring to, do they go forward to receive communion? I can't picture a pastor making the rounds in the pews to bless children.

Personally, I am thinking of the practice of receiving the Lord's Supper at a table somewhere near the front of the meeting room and using a common cup. In these situations, the pastor will often address both those sitting at the table and those observing from the pews.

 

[Pilgrim]

This is interesting to me. Maybe because the only Baptist churches I have ever attended were SBC whee the elements were passed down the pews on trays. In the churches you are referring to, do they go forward to receive communion? I can't picture a pastor making the rounds in the pews to bless children.

Some of those types of churches are "liturgical" to varying degrees, so it may be that they do come forward in some of them.

 

[reaganmarsh]

Some of those types of churches are "liturgical" to varying degrees, so it may be that they do come forward in some of them.

In the churches I had in mind, this was the case.

 

[Pilgrim]

In the churches I had in mind, this was the case.

This is one reason why many conservative Baptists and other evangelicals associate liturgical with liberal.

(Of course, everyone has their liturgy. So-called "Traditional" Baptists aren't going to get rid of their "altar call!")

There is a group of Calvinistic Baptists that is emphasizing liturgy. (Or at least the names I recognize are Calvinistic.) By this, I take it that they recite one of the creeds, maybe recite the Lord's Prayer and so on. I don't know if they have people come forward to receive communion. Some of them also observe Lent. I don't know if this has any precedence in Baptist history outside of the more liberal churches to which you refer.

I've seen independent evangelical churches use intinction, etc. But some of them will also have quite "contemporary" worship. There's no telling what you'll find when you go into various churches. An independent Bible church near me has a communion rail at which people kneel while taking communion. But otherwise it is in the traditional Dallas Seminary vein and the services are "low church" with this one exception. I'm guessing that isn't typical of the Bible church tradition. One that we've attended off and on for years passes the elements down the rows.

 

[Post Tenebras]

This is the standard practice in two Lutheran (LCMS) churches that I have attended.

 

[Elizabeth]

Yep...our LCMS church does this. I think it is kind of lovely.

 

[Edward]

This is the standard practice in two Lutheran (LCMS) churches that I have attended.

In my most recent visit to a LCMS, the children and the visitors stayed in the pews during the administration of the sacrament.

 

[Clark-Tillian]

Frankly, it might violate the RPW. There's zero biblical warrant for the practice. Watching the ritual/ceremony is where the Spirit moves upon them, primarily. I once had a 5-6 year old boy tell his father--"Don't eat that, Dad, you're going to die." I told his parents that I was mightily impressed. Lots of folks are daydreaming at this point, and most small kids will be too. But this covenant child seemed to intuitively grasp the fencing of the table. Over the years he's shown great insight into deeper things. Very encouraging.

 

[TheologiaCrucis]

Most LCMS churches do practice this, but are by no means required to. It came into practice for mostly practical reasons. Parents often must bring their children (ESP their younger children) with them, thus it seemed fitting to acknowledge them and speak a prayer over them no less. I am not sure this really contradicts even the Reformed principle of worship, unless praying for children of the Covenant who have received the covenantal seal of Baptism is considered unbiblical. When I was a pastor I would typically say a prayer reminding the child of his or her baptism.