Interest High In Lord's Supper Webinar

Titled “Children at the Lord’s Table,” the webinar started at noon on April 25.

The webinar addressed how Christian Reformed Church (CRC) congregations have responded to Synod’s 2011’s historic decision to allow baptized children to take part in the sacrament of Communion.

For this webinar, 100 people registered and others put their  names on a waiting list, making it one of the most popular of the online presentations that the CRC’s Office of Communications has offered on a range of topics since late January.

As host and moderator Kim Chimienti offered a welcome, presentation slides appeared on computer screens and people all over North America began to watch and listen.

Chimienti, a communications specialist, oversaw the workings of the webinar, including interactive polls, as Rev. Thea Leunk, pastor of Eastern Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Pat Nederveld, a children's writer/editor for Faith Alive Christian Resources, led the presentation.

Leunk and Nederveld said, as they began, that they planned to provide suggestions and a framework for how a church can open the table to baptized children in a manner that fits the pace, history and sensitivities of its congregation.

As they spoke, six pastors in one city huddled around a computer screen to participate in the webinar.

Another church opened the sanctuary to let parents and church leaders watch it on the big screen.

Still others watched and listened in many locations — in churches, at home, at their place of ministry — on their personal computers.

As the webinar unfolded, Leunk and Nederveld said that some churches have been very eager to open the table to baptized children as soon as possible, while others are working through reservations they have — especially on the profession of faith issue.

Frequently, they said, churches have found ways to make the transition  through prayerful planning and open discussions.

One church that Nederveld talked with has opened the table to baptized children for years, even before the change in church policy.

At the same time, another has developed a fairly extensive preparation process prior to giving children the opportunity to participate in the Lord’s Supper.

Some churches have their elders work closely with children and parents in preparation for joining in the sacrament. Other churches have their pastors connect with families about this.

Overall, said Leunk, the best approach seems to be to put together a team of people, ideally including members of the church council, representatives from the worship team, and parents to decide what are the best steps to take in this process.

Profession of faith was a recurring issue in the webinar.

Until Synod 2010 changed the Church Order, churches were asked to make sure a child had made a profession of faith before partaking of Communion.

Often, this was a fairly formal process of education and then of the young person professing their faith publicly during a worship service.

Nederveld said that the Faith Formation Committee, of which she is a member, is currently working on recommendations for ways in which churches and parents can support and assist baptized children, after they have begun participating in the Lord’s Supper, continue on their journey of faith

The Faith Formation Committee is the group whose job it has been to study and assess the significance of this change in church polity and to recommend to churches ways of honoring and putting it into place.

The committee has a five-year mandate and continues to work on finding ways to assist in the faith formation of young people.

The key, Nederveld said, is to teach children that loving Jesus and taking part in the Lord’s Supper is a wonderful first step and milestone in a child’s life of faith.

The profession of faith, she said, needs to be viewed as another step that young people take as they mature in the understanding and practice of their faith.

It is an opportunity for young people, to profess to the best of their ability, the confessional teachings of the Christian Reformed Church.

“We see this as a significant moment in a young person’s journey”  and that it represents a deepening of their faith, said Nederveld.

Speaking online through the  webinar, Nederveld emphasized that a profession of faith ought to be viewed as part of a lifelong process of comprehending, growing closer to and serving God.

She added that Faith Alive Christian Resources, the publishing agency of the CRC, will soon be coming out with a guide for churches and families to gain a deeper understanding of, and to prepare for, significant milestones in a young person’s life.

The webinars are online presentations on any number of topics.  In this instance, Leunk and Nederveld presented the information and webinar participants were also able to type in questions for them.

So many questions came in that organizers held an extended Q&A session after the formal presentation concluded.

For the full list of upcoming webinars, previous recordings, and to vote on proposed webinar topics, visit www.crcna.org/webinars.