Eucharist (Communion)

You cup both of them together, one across the palm of the other like a figure "X" or cross.

Mortal sin separates us from god and his people. It must be confessed in the sacrament of reconciliation before a person receives holy communion.

No matter the faith many times the believer's personal faith is divergent to the disciple of the particular church. Whether it be: Transubstantiation; Consubstantiation; Transignifcation; Transfixiation or just simple memorial sharing. The good old Christian Brothers taught that the Anglican Church followed the Heidegerian Philosophy as can be found in "Sein und Zeit" "Being and Time" http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119034637/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Wikipedia does not seem to give a concrete definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Eucharistic_theology Perhaps the best answer could be found in John Stott's "Anglican Eucharistic Theology" http://web.mac.com/brian.douglas/Anglican_Eucharistic_Theology/Blog/Entries/2005/12/30_John_StottBorn_1921Evangelist_and_Writer.html An Anglican (episcopalian) viewpoint As a member of the Church of England which, as a Church along with the Episcopalian Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican Church there is an official line as laid down in the 39 Articles of Faith formulated when the Church of England was formed in the 16th Century. In the Roman Church the belief in transubstantiation is official and widespread. They concentrate on the words of Christ 'This is my body./blood... do this in remembrance of me'. Therefore Roman Catholic doctrine is that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. In that, at each mass there is therefore a re-sacrifice of Our Lord's body and the consecrated bread and wine are a real presence of Christ for the people there. Therefore any 'spare' consecrated bread and wine are either consumed or kept in a cupboard called an aumbry (or a tabernacle if on the altar) so that the physical presence of Christ can remain within that place of worship. Therefore the consecrated bread and wine are given due veneration as Christ's body and blood. In the Anglican (Epcopalian) Church, however, whilst very few still pursue the Roman doctrines surrounding the mass, the vast majority remember Christ's words in a different way: 'This is my body/blood... do this in remembrance of me' and regard the Eucharist as a memorial of his death and passion until he comes again. This does not mean to say that the consecrated bread and wine are nothing special. Anglicans believe that scripture says that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was a once-and-for-all event and any 'resacrifice' at a mass is contrary to scripture. Therefore the Roman doctrine of the mass regarding transubstantiation and a resacrifice is inappropriate to the Anglican. One of the reasons for moving away from the transubstantiation doctrine was the upsurge of superstition surrounding the consecrated bread and wine, and, although this is not so nuch the case nowadays, the safeguard is still there. Instead, the belief in the Anglican church is that the bread and wine represent Christ's Body and Blood. In that, they are given some reverence but not in the same way as in a Roman Church. At the end of the Eucharist, any remaining bread and wine are consumed reverently either by the priest or by the priest and anyone else he calls upon (if there is a great deal left), and are usually not stored in church. For an Anglican, the miracle of the Eucharist is not in the inanimate objects of the Bread and Wine themselves, but in coming to the Lord's Table in faith and humility, and sharing in that spiritual meal where they can meet with God in a special way.

yes

Priests can also administer communion. However, from the dawn of Christianity, through the time when the Christians were persecuted & forced into hiding, until the formation of a formal church, all that were baptized had the right to administer communion. It's only through the organization of religion that the right of communion was limited to the official clergy. The intent, in early Christianity, was to have no formal church.

you receive the body of christ with the wine[blood of christ]

Because it is a person, THE person. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No Christ, no anything.

Also called the Holy Grail, its location is unknown

Baptist churches have a lot of lee-way to determine their own liturgy. No two Baptist churches are alike. Based on what I've read, about 50 percent of United States Baptists are fundamentalists or very conservative evangelicals (these would include the Independent Fundamental Baptists and the Southern Baptists). Most of the rest are moderate evangelicals, with a few theological liberals located mainly in the northeastern United States. Most Baptists, regardless of their place on the liberal-conservative spectrum, celebrate communion once a month. The communion service is identical to regular services, except it has communion at the end. The communion is usually distributed on plates to the seated members of the congregation by the deacons. Wine (usually unfermented, alcohol-free grape beverage) is distributed in small cups in the same manner.

Fundamentalist Baptists tend to have a rationalistic approach to spiritual questions, seeking to interpret the Bible as simply as possible. As a result, they usually say that the communion is a purely symbolic act done "in remembrance" of Christ. (They are often called "Biblical literalists," but this is a misnomer, since fundamentalists have many allegorical interpretations of Scripture - as a rule, they seek to interpret the Bible as the original writers intended it, which allows for poetic and allegorical interpretation where the passages are plainly such. Critics of fundamentalism do note, however, that they often miss ancient figures of speech.) More moderate Baptists may allow that there is something mystical about the presence of Christ in the bread and wine, but are usually unwilling to define it in any dogmatic way. The focus is on the meal as a memorial to Christ. There is nothing equivalent to the Catholic understanding that Christ is sacrificed in the guise of the bread and the wine, and the minister performing the communion service is not understood as a priest offering sacrifice, as he is in the Catholic Church. This is because Baptists believe that each and every Christian has a personal relationship with God, and is therefore a "priest," regardless of whether they've been ordained to the role of presbyter.

Most Baptists allow any Christian from other Trinitarian churches to partake in their communion, as long as the Christian trusts Christ as Lord and Savior. This is in accord with their understanding that the "Church" is not a specific human institution, but the world-wide community of true believers whose membership is ultimately known only to God. Some fundamentalist Baptists, however, may practice closed communion. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, Christadelphians, Moonies, Christian Scientists, and other non-trinitarian groups are not generally regarded as "Christians" by most Baptists, so communion would not be knowing offered to members of these groups.

It should be noted that many "non-denominational" churches are identical to Baptist churches in doctrine and many have Baptist roots, so this answer also applies to most of them. (Prominent examples include Willow Creek Community Church in the metro-Chicago area and Saddleback Church in California.) Increasing numbers of moderate evangelical Baptists are dropping the term "Baptist" from their names, often choosing names like "Community Church" or "<placename> Church." They are doing this because the fundamentalists and Southern Baptists have engaged in aggressive political action and confrontational evangelism, which have given many Americans the impression that all Baptists are combative right-wing partisans. There is also a growing ecumenical awareness and erasing denominational boundries between most Protestants, so denominational identity is no longer regarded as important by many. As a result, the best expressions of the Baptist faith are often not labeled "Baptist" at all, but present themselves as "non-denominational."

Eucharist is a form of Initiation to the church to receive God's Communion.

It means that admission to the altar for communion is not solely for members of that particular synod or congregation. A Lutheran Church with an open Communion policy requires only that the partaker is baptized, has made confession of sins, is repentant, acknowledges the 'real presence' in the sacrament and upholds the general tenents of Biblical Chistianity; but the partaker does not have to belong to that congregation's particular political/leadership affiliation. Churches with close or "closed" Communion policies require complete and total doctrinal agreement amongst partakers. So, often one must be a member of the congregation or Synod to be admitted to the altar for communion.

A Eucharist wafer is the body of Christ, who died for you.

You would need to check with your pastor, it depends on whether the baptism was valid, I do not know specifics abou the "United Church."

In the Church of Scotland I believe it is drunk by the elders and minister as cannot be thrown away after being sanctified

It is not a sin to not take communion. The sin is to not attend mass. Most people do take communion when they come of age if they decide to continue with the religion.

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There are many good options.

Congratulate the First Communicant on their deepening understanding of their faith.

Express joy at the Love of God bestowed on them.

Promise to pray for them as they continue their Journey at Jesus' side.

Ask them to pray for you.

Marvel at the wonder of a God who loves us all so much.

For a Roman Catholic, this fuller participation in the church community entails eating a piece of the flesh of the human being Jesus. It looks like bread and tastes like bread, but they are taught that it is the body of Jesus, and that they are drinking the blood of Jesus.

If this card is for a young person, I don't think its a good idea to try to broach those complex subjects in the limits of a greeting card.

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that means the body of Christ and the people of God

The First Communion marks not only a child's beginning understanding of the Sacrament, but also a passage into a 'communion' of celebration with other believers. If I'm not mistaken, if a child has not made a First Communion along with religious instruction, they are excluded from the celebration until they complete this instruction.

You may never "take" Holy Communion in a Catholic Church. You MAYonlyreceive Holy Communion after you have been baptized, and in the Latin Rite, made your First Confession.