How frequently does your church observe the Lord’s Supper?

ALAYMAN

ALAYMAN

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Lord’s Supper frequency at your church, and does that suit your preference?
 
First Sunday of each month.

On Good Friday services as well.
 
ALAYMAN said:
Lord’s Supper frequency at your church, and does that suit your preference?
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Per the by-laws, no less than once per month, typically on the first Sunday. Every Good Friday service I've attended, as well. (My guess is that if Easter fell on the first Sunday of April, they'd forego one or the other. Not sure if I've been there when that happened.)

I saw your thread about attending the RB church that did communion weekly--I assume that's what prompted this thread? I attended a Brethren chapel during my teens, and that is their practice as well, so weekly communion wouldn't faze me at all. Though once per month seems quite satisfactory.
 
Ransom said:
Per the by-laws, no less than once per month, typically on the first Sunday. Every Good Friday service I've attended, as well. (My guess is that if Easter fell on the first Sunday of April, they'd forego one or the other. Not sure if I've been there when that happened.)

I saw your thread about attending the RB church that did communion weekly--I assume that's what prompted this thread? I attended a Brethren chapel during my teens, and that is their practice as well, so weekly communion wouldn't faze me at all. Though once per month seems quite satisfactory.
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Yes, the recent Reformed Baptist experience prompted it. And unlike my tongue-in-cheek OP where I jokingly took a swipe at reformed theology, in the moment of observation I more seriously had question about the nature and manner in which it was conducted. It reminded me of the limited sacerdotal experiences I’ve indirectly been part of in the past. No disrespect intended to them, but it looked like assembly-line religious observance and seemed to lack reverence, though that observation is undoubtedly shaped by the bias I have due to years of participating in the supper in the church the way I have seen.

And on a different note I find it interesting that your church specifies the minimum frequency in its bylaws.
 
Gringo said:
Has your new pastor taken over yet?
.
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Yes, he assumed the pulpit the very week following the former pastor’s retirement. My absence this weekend to attend my son’s “Family Weekend” forced him into a real baptism by fire, resulting in quite the interesting story, but I’ll reserve that one for a different day. 😊
 
ALAYMAN said:
Yes, he assumed the pulpit the very week following the former pastor’s retirement. My absence this weekend to attend my son’s “Family Weekend” forced him into a real baptism by fire, resulting in quite the interesting story, but I’ll reserve that one for a different day. 😊
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Can't wait.
 
ALAYMAN said:
And on a different note I find it interesting that your church specifies the minimum frequency in its bylaws.
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Do other churches not do so? It's part of how the church conducts its business, so it makes sense that it be written down in the bylaws. Seems quite logical to me.
 
Ransom said:
Do other churches not do so? It's part of how the church conducts its business, so it makes sense that it be written down in the bylaws. Seems quite logical to me.
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What are bylaws?
 
HukNduck said:
Church ordinances.
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hahaha, you being an esquire (and a Baptist to boot) makes me chuckle at this phraseology that clearly has two potential meanings😁 (I’m assuming you meant the term “ordinance” in the legal sense and not the theological). Almost makes my day 😊
 
Ransom said:
Do other churches not do so? It's part of how the church conducts its business, so it makes sense that it be written down in the bylaws. Seems quite logical to me.
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I had never heard of it before, but that means little. Your premise about it being “part of how the church does business” is on point. I guess my gut reaction to thinking about it stemmed from the general premise that the scriptures don’t specify how frequently to observe it so why codify it? But at the end of the day I wouldn’t quibble over it, particularly as it is most likely flowing from the ecclesiastical authority granted to the church by membership.
 
ALAYMAN said:
hahaha, you being an esquire (and a Baptist to boot) makes me chuckle at this phraseology that clearly has two potential meanings😁 (I’m assuming you meant the term “ordinance” in the legal sense and not the theological). Almost makes my day 😊
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Yeah, I was just thinking of it in legal terms, although I thought maybe he was just being facetious. I know church bylaws are legally binding. I can’t say I recall learning much about the legality of church bylaws, but curiosity got me to searching and there are some interesting case studies that exist. I will say that I’ve always found it somewhat suspicious that churches I’ve been affiliated with tend to vote on amending bylaws on services that are the least attended and most likely to attract the more hardcore members, e.g., “voting will take place after the Sunday night service” or “we’ll have a members-only meeting on Wednesday night following the conclusion of the service.” 🤔
 
HukNduck said:
Yeah, I was just thinking of it in legal terms, although I thought maybe he was just being facetious. I know church bylaws are legally binding. I can’t say I recall learning much about the legality of church bylaws, but curiosity got me to searching and there are some interesting case studies that exist. I will say that I’ve always found it somewhat suspicious that churches I’ve been affiliated with tend to vote on amending bylaws on services that are the least attended and most likely to attract the more hardcore members, e.g., “voting will take place after the Sunday night service” or “we’ll have a members-only meeting on Wednesday night following the conclusion of the service.” 🤔
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Import "dedicated" into "hardcore" and I think you'll capture the proper mindset and motive. ;) I also think that some of the rationale there is that many people don't want to be trifled with church business and would rather leave that sort of business in the hands of the "hardcore" folk, so by announcing the matter beforehand it accomplishes two things. First, it gives them (members) the logistical info needed to make arrangements to be there for the meeting, and secondly it allows those that don't care about that stuff to avoid involvement in matters that they don't want to have anything to do with, and that includes consideration to the fact that some people are there on Sunday morning that aren't members but are regular attenders and they don't want to feel awkward about that moment when it becomes clear that they are being asked to leave. And the other side of that coin, from the members/leaders standpoint is that it allows them (leaders/members) to not have non-members hanging around watching church business being conducted.
 
Ransom said:
Standeeeeerds!
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LOL!

I did think of that when talking about the Lord's Supper thang. And I found this quick answer to Huk's question (in a generally reliable generic theological source) to have an interesting related tidbit (related to "Standeeeeerds" and a source of many fights on the old FFF)...

Link
Third, to preserve unity and maintain its testimony, a church should agree on certain issues of Christian living and separation. A “gray area” which the Bible does not specifically address may be covered in a by-law. For example, a church may require its members to refrain from the consumption of alcohol; since this is not a doctrinal issue, per se, it is better dealt with in the by-laws.
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The last day of a sermon series. These series are at least 4 weeks long, sometimes 6.
 
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