Celebration of Communion Coming July 5

Dear Praise Family,

One of the most difficult aspects of being kept apart during this pandemic has been the absence of sharing in the Lord's Supper together. While we have been blessed by the time and effort of so many talented people who have made our worship services possible during this lock-down, those services were pre-recorded, edited, and processed rather than live. In keeping with our denomination's guidance, we did not feel providing communion through a "canned" service would sufficiently honor the sacrament of communion. The importance of being together when partaking of this commandment to remember our Lord cannot be overstated.

For our service on July 5, we are planning to provide communion to those outside the building, inside the building, and to those at home. There are two primary differences with this coming service that allows us to offer the option of communion from home. One, we are no longer off-site, as we will be "together" as a congregation. Two, rather than providing a "canned" service, the broadcast will be live, meaning when the communion elements are consecrated during the broadcast it will be a live event. Furthermore, we have also since received some additional clarification from our denominational leadership.

For those outside on the lawn and those inside the building, the communion elements will be distributed on Sunday, July 5, leading up to the communion service that morning. The details for this will be in the bulletin for July 5. For those at home, we will be providing two options. First, you may stop by the church on Tuesday, June 30, between 5:30 and 6:30 PM or Friday, July 3, between 9:00 and 10:00 AM, where you will find Pastor Warren or Michael Eldred at a table near the front door with the elements for pick-up. These are prepackaged sets that do not need refrigeration (they are not gluten-free). Second, you may also use a bread and grape juice product of your choice that you provide yourself.

We look forward to celebrating communion with all of you, remembering our Lord as He has commanded, with great joy and gratitude.

Yours in Christ,
The Elders