Communion Celebration Lab: Introduction

Please consider the following questions with as much honesty and openness as you can:

• Do you stand at the pulpit and woodenly read the liturgy?
• If you stand at or behind the table, do you know what to do with your hands as you preside?
• Do you stumble through the liturgy, as if reading it for the first time?
• Is your presidential style sloppy, disengaged, or unintentional?
• Are you uncomfortable with the language of the liturgy or feel that it no longer applies today?
• Do you find presiding at the table meaningful, or does it feel like an empty ritual?

Based on my observations and conversations with clergy and laity across the denomination, many United Methodist pastors would, unfortunately, identify with at least three of these statements. Laity frequently tell me that their pastors seem unsure of how to preside, uncomfortable in the role, or awkward in their attempts to bring style and dignity to the moment. Their efforts often come across as "confused," "unplanned," or "unnatural." Likewise, many clergy admit feeling uncertain about what to do, where to stand, and why.

This is unsurprising, given that many pastors receive only minimal practical training in sacramental leadership—whether through a Conference Course of Study or in worship classes at Seminary. As a result, they feel unprepared to preside at the Lord's Table. Many are unclear about the meaning of different parts of the Great Thanksgiving and worry about "appearing too Catholic" or "out of place." Some rush through the liturgy simply to "get it over with," while others abandon it entirely in favor of an unstructured, extemporaneous approach that aims to be "contemporary" but lacks theological depth.

Even more troubling are those who have dismissed the sacrament altogether, mistakenly believing it to be an outdated relic of primitive tradition that no longer has value in the modern world.