Overture 04-50. On Amending W-2.4006 and W-2.4011 Concerning Who May Participate—From the Presbytery of Central Washington.

The Presbytery of Central Washington overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendments to the Directory for Worship to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes:

1. Shall the first paragraph of W-2.4006 be amended as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“Around the Table of the Lord, God’s people are in communion with Christ and with all who belong to Christ. Reconciliation with Christ compels reconciliation with one another. All the baptized faithful who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are to be welcomed to the Table, and none shall be ex-cluded because of race, sex, age, economic status, social class, handicapping condition, difference of culture or language, or any barrier created by human injustice. Coming to the Lord’s Table the faithful are ac-tively to seek reconciliation in every instance of conflict or division between them and their neighbors. Each time they gather at the Table the believing community”

2. Shall W-2.4011 be amended as follows: [Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to be added or inserted is shown as italic.]

“a. The invitation to the Lord’s Supper is extended to all who have been baptized acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, remembering that access to the Table is not a right conferred upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love. In preparing to receive Christ in this Sacrament, the believer is to confess sin and brokenness, to seek reconciliation with God and neighbor, and to trust in Jesus Christ for cleansing and renewal. Even one who doubts or whose trust is wavering may come to the Table in order to be assured of God’s love and grace in Christ Jesus.

“b. Baptized cChildren who are being nurtured and instructed in the significance of the invitation to the Table and the meaning of their response are invited to receive the Lord’s Supper, recognizing that their understanding of participation will vary according to their maturity. (W-4.2002)”

Rationale

At our Savior’s command the church of Jesus Christ is to be open and inviting to all who seek after the grace of God.

The Lord’s Supper is one of the central elements of worship where we celebrate the grace of God and our unity as believers, regardless of the historical and denominational lines that have fractured the one catholic holy Christian Church.

In this day and age, the majority of our new members and visitors to our congregations come from many dif-ferent denominational and spiritual paths as they begin to worship in our congregations and become active in our ministries.

We recognize with the Reformed tradition that the true Church of Jesus Christ is invisible and known only to God.

We recognize that often we have Christians attending our worship services who, for a variety of reasons, have not yet been baptized, but may have a full and vital relationship with Jesus Christ and we understand that current Presbyterian polity forces us to deny participation in the Lord’s Supper to these brothers and sisters.

We should not judge who is fit to participate in the Lord’s Supper based on baptism status alone.

Our Book of Order should reflect what is the current practice of many churches: to invite all who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to participate in the Lord’s Supper.