Church communities develop varying traditions concerning the bread used for Holy Communion. Some leaders purchase round loaves that are a bit sweet and do not crumble. “Kings Hawaiian” is a favorite at my home church. Some use unleavened bread – matzo crackers – and others purchase round unleavened thin wafers that are stamped. During the challenging days of the COVID pandemic, prepackaged communion cups became necessary, even at first when in-person worship resumed. The juice on the bottom cup is topped with a thin wafer to peel off.
Even if your worship community has a “staple” to use for communion bread, you may want to broaden your perspective or challenge the way you generally assemble the communion elements by offering the opportunity for members of your congregation to prepare bread for the altar.
As you plan for worship you might introduce or recover this tradition for World Communion Sunday (first week in October), or on a Sunday near Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Holy Thursday. Preparing Communion bread can be a spiritual exercise. The hands-on preparation of mixing and kneading, combined with the meditative nature of waiting on bread to rise, offers an opportunity for active contemplation. When reaching out for volunteers to begin this Communion ministry, a pastor or worship leader typically knows who is a gifted baker, so start with the obvious choices to develop or add to the worship team. When you have your volunteer, encourage them to mix, knead and bake prayerfully, using the following guide. Read More
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