COLUMBUS INDIANA AREA EMMAUS COMMUNITY



COLUMBUS INDIANA AREA EMMAUS COMMUNITY

DYING MOMENTS COMMUNION SERVICE

To the Walk Spiritual Director

"Dying moments" refer to specific sins, wounds, disappointments, burdens, or brokenness that we experience as points of living death in our lives. The Dying Moments Communion Service flows naturally out of the Means of Grace talk.

The Dying Moments Communion Service immediately follows the Means of Grace talk on Saturday morning. Those participating would include the pilgrims and the conference room team. A separate and simultaneous service is held for the Agape and Kitchen teams and led by an Assistant Spiritual Director.

The Walk Spiritual Director explains and personally illustrates dying moments in a communion meditation and invites the pilgrims to get in touch with a part of their life that needs to die or be released in order to make space for God's "new thing." The Spiritual Director may use the formal Great Thanksgiving or a modification of it. The Spiritual Director invites the table of concern and then the pilgrims to participate table by table. They are invited to come to the altar one by one to break off a piece of the bread and name aloud their dying moment. The pilgrim needs to understand that they are not partaking in communion at that time. After the bread is broken and the dying moment is named, the piece of bread is placed in the basket. The Spiritual Director and the Lay Director go first followed by the table of concern and then each of the conference room tables.

After everyone has participated, the Spiritual Director holds the basket of bread so all can see the results of the named dying moments. An explanation is made about Jesus taking our sin as he died upon the cross. His blood covers our sin, grants forgiveness and redeems us to new life. With that said, the Spiritual Director takes the cup of wine and pours it over the bread in the basket. This illustrates the covering of our sin with the blood of Christ. Not only is our sin forgiven with the blood of Jesus, it is also taken away from us. The basket of bread covered with the wine is then taken from the chapel out of the sight of the pilgrims to be later retrieved by the Agape team. The Spiritual Director returns to affirm the new life we have received in Christ with the celebration of Holy Communion using the other half of the consecrated bread and a new cup of wine. In receiving the bread and cup of Christ's love, we receive the healing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we accept responsibility to bring this love and new life of Christ to others. Again starting with the table of concern and then each of the tables of pilgrims, communion is offered by intinction.

For further information, see the instruction in the Spiritual Director's manual.

July 12, 2003 Emmaus Board

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