Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: zds-ux!bjstaff@uunet.uu.net Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Open Communion Message-ID: Date: 12 Feb 90 09:47:57 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 36 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu christm@thor.acc.stolaf.edu (Mark C. Christianson) writes: >The ELCA is the largest of all the Lutheran churches, and its congregaons do, >by and large, practice open communion. I can vouch for this. I have been a member of one ELCA Lutheran church, and have visited (at least) two others, and they all practiced open communion. > However, bodies such as the >Lutheran Chruch - Missori Synod, the Wisconsin Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran >Synod, and the Lutheran Bretheran (or Brotherhood?) discourage people who are >not members of their own congregation from taking communion, wether Lutheran or >not, at least without first talking to the pastor. The only other Lutheran church I have had experience with was a local LCMS congregation. We had recently moved from Florida to Michigan and were looking for a new church home. My wife and I attended a LCMS congregation for a good while. We were seriously thinking of joining, and went to talk to one of the pastors about it. Just as the meeting was about to conclude, I asked whether there would be any problem with our communing until we were "official" members. To my amazement, he said he really wouldn't like that at all. To make a long story short, we didn't join the LCMS congregation after all. > It is this that I find >unneeded and uncalled for. Even between the other denominations, one should be >able to take communion in any church without first talking to the pastor, for >the physical divisions mean nothing to God and his saving grace. Agreed. I am now a happy member of a United Methodist church. >christm@stolaf.edu >Mark C. Christianson uunet!zds-ux!bjstaff Brad Staff