Not, by Christ’s Ordinance, Reserved
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved,” Articles of Religion, 1563 What do you do when you want to share the Lord’s supper, but you don’t have a proper person to lead the service? Depending on the church to which you belong, the “proper person” may be called a priest, a bishop, an elder, a pastor, a minister or something else. For some churches, this isn’t an issue; any member of the church can preside at communion. Let’s assume for a moment, though, that you think that some persons are called to take special leadership roles within the church, and that presiding at the Lord’s table is one of those roles. What do you do if that person is not available? There are a couple of situations where this becomes a problem. First, how do you share communion in the church if the authorized communion leader is not present? Second, how do you share communion with those who are living in nursing homes or being treated in hospitals? One solution has been t...