World Communion Sunday is celebrated each year on the first Sunday in October. Many of us have heard about it but may not know much about where the celebration originated. According to the website of the National Council of Churches, World Communion Sunday began in 1936 in the Presbyterian Church and was adopted by the Federal Council of Churches (predecessor of the NCC) in 1940. Since then, this joyous occasion has grown into an international ecumenical celebration of Christian unity.

The keywords being communion and unity, World Communion Sunday offers congregations a unique opportunity to experience Holy Communion and fellowship in the context of the global community of faith. Remembering that they are part of the whole body of believers, this special day has become a time when Christians in every culture break bread and pour the cup to remember and affirm Christ as the Head of the Church. Whether shared in a grand palace, a straw hut, a magnificent Cathedral, the Nativity church, the Holy Sepulcher, outside on a hilltop, or in a cozy living room Christians celebrate the communion liturgy in as many ways as there are congregations. World Communion Sunday can be both a profound worship experience and a time for learning more about our wider community of faith. It is a time for remembering that around the globe—in different languages, with different traditions and customs, and in various forms of liturgy—the Lord’s Supper is celebrated throughout Christendom.

As a Christian community in Palestine, we would like to share few ideas for your own celebration of World Communion Sunday this year on October 7, 2018.

  • Make World Communion Sunday a truly global celebration. Write up a prayer for global Christian unity and harmony and send it to another congregation (including them in this prayer) to read on World Communion Sunday. In this way we get to pray for each other.
  • Invite neighboring congregations to bake traditional bread from different ethnic heritages and break this bread together, followed by a day of fellowship. As Palestinian Christians we are happy to share a recipe of our traditional KA’AK BIL SIMSIM. Download Recipe.
  • Don’t let World Communion Sunday end on October 8. It is on the Christian calendar for a reason as it will help open a congregation’s eyes to the global nature of Christianity. It should encourage a continued interest in the traditions and needs of Christian churches thousands of miles away. World communion Sunday can be the catalyst in cultural understanding and mission, the spark that creates ongoing global concern in our congregations. In this way Christian communities can connect and help fulfill each other’s needs and strengthen the bond’s of unity, love and justice.

World Communion Sunday is a helpful way in which Christ calls us back together to celebrate the liturgy “in remembrance of me.”