COMMUNION FAQ
If you’re new to the Episcopal Church, taking Communion can be confusing. Here are some common questions and their answers.
All baptized Christians, regardless of denomination, are welcome to take Communion in the Episcopal Church. If for any reason, you don’t want to receive Communion, you are still invited to come forward, kneel, and cross your arms over your chest. The priest will say a prayer of blessing for you. If you have not been baptized, we would love to talk to you about getting baptized! Please contact the church office to find out about our baptism preparation class.
I’M NOT EPISCOPALIAN. CAN I TAKE COMMUNION?
CAN CHILDREN TAKE COMMUNION?
If they are baptized, yes! Some parents, however, prefer to wait until their children are older. If you do not want your baptized children to receive Communion until a later age, please instruct them to cross their arms over their chest, and the priest will offer them a blessing.
HOW DO I TAKE COMMUNION?
After the Priest invites the congregation to receive Communion (“The gifts of God for the people of God”), the lay ministers will receive Communion around the altar. After that, the acolytes will dismiss the congregation, row by row, to come forward and receive Communion. When you’re dismissed, please go to the altar rail, kneel (if you’re able—some people stand if kneeling is difficult for them), and put your hands out to receive the bread. The minister will put the bread in your hands. You then have two choices:
Eat the bread immediately, then when the chalice (cup) of wine is presented, drink from the cup.
hHold on to your wafer of bread, then dip it in the wine when it is presented. This is called intinction. Then immediately consume the wafer and wine.
After receiving Communion, please return to your pew along the side aisles.
WHAT IF MY MOBILITY IS LIMITED?
If it is difficult or you are unable to walk up to the altar, let an usher know and we will happily bring Communion to you where you are seated.
DO YOU HAVE GLUTEN-FREE WAFERS?
Yes. We currently offer GF wafers. As you’re kneeling, when the priest comes to you, simply tell them “Gluten free” or hold your hands closed and they will provide you with a GF wafer. Take the GF wafer and dip it in the cup to receive Communion.
WHAT IF I DROP MY WAFER?
Don’t worry! This happens all the time. The priest or lay minister will pick it up. Since it has been consecrated, it will not be thrown in the trash. Rather, the priest or minister will consume it.
DO I HAVE TO DRINK THE WINE?
No. If you do not want to drink the wine, cross your arms over your chest after receiving the bread. This lets the minister know not to offer you wine. Alternatively, some members hold on to the bread and simply tap the wafer on the edge of the cup as a symbolic way of partaking of the wine.
WHAT DO EPISCOPALIANS BELIEVE HAPPEN IN COMMUNION?
The Holy Eucharist—also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper—comes from the Greek word meaning "Thanksgiving." In this meal, Jesus gives us a way to remember and enter into his atoning death and resurrection, the greatest expression of God's love. As we eat and drink together, we are reminded that we are one Body, united to God and one another.
Episcopalians hold a range of views on what happens to the bread and wine. We do not typically affirm Transubstantiation—the teaching that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ—but we do believe Christ is genuinely and mysteriously present as we receive them. For questions about this or any matter of theology, please contact the office and ask for a member of the clergy team at 904.615.2130.
