The Wall Street Journal did a fascinating story this weekend on the challenge Central United Methodist Church in Concord (northeast of Charlotte) experienced when they launched an online campus that included streaming worship services, webcam Bible studies, counseling via live chat and a dedicated online pastor. Things were going fine until they proposed having a communion service online. Encouraging worshippers to “simply grab some grape juice and any bread or crackers they have in the house, and consume them after the pastor, in the sanctuary, blesses the juice and bread as representing the blood and body of Christ.”
But that’s when the Methodist denominational leadership said “No.”
The Journal reported, “On Friday, the denomination’s leading body, the Council of Bishops, declared a moratorium on all online sacraments, including communion, and called for further study of which practices would be acceptable online. The moratorium was declared at the request of an influential group of United Methodist ministers and theologians, who said in a statement that communion is understood to be celebrated “within a physically gathered community.”
In other words, they felt communion should be experienced face to face with a body of physical worshipers, not alone in a “virtual” world. Keep reading
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