One of the contradictions I have observed in intercultural churches in North America is that, while they intentionally strive to welcome all people, almost all of them stubbornly adhere to the “closed” communion tradition, which allows only baptized participants to partake.
For these churches, the meaning of welcoming is limited and conditional when it comes to communion (a word that, ironically, means “sharing in common”).
The book, In Church as It Is in Heaven, is a practical liturgical guide based on the story of a fascinating multi-ethnic church, Sojourn Midtown, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Even this non-traditional church, which brings together different social and ethnic groups to the fullest degree, adheres to a traditional way of serving communion: “Communion is a holy ordinance for baptized believers in Jesus.”
The essence of intercultural ministry lies in its openness and inclusiveness. The call to worship of many, if not all, intercultural churches will begin with the non-controversial statement, “All are welcome here!”
Without the indiscriminate welcome of people, the church tends to fall into performative ministry clothed with outward diversity, and not the love of Christ that transcends human limitations and boundaries.
Intercultural churches weave three types of “inter” all together—interethnic, intergenerational and inter-socioeconomic—embracing all intersectional modes of lives.
The gospel message of Christ calls for the integration and reconciliation of all people. As such, when the trifold meaning of intercultural meets a church founded in the gospel, it becomes a place that is ruthlessly open to everyone.
How can an intercultural church display the true spirit of openness and welcome toward new people? It begins when communion is open to all, no matter who they are and no matter if they are baptized or not.
Communion is the most important church ritual because we receive the very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Every other ritual of the church leads up to communion or flows from it.
Without communion, we have no spiritual life in us. John 6:53-54 says, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” This text alludes to the fact that, insofar as communion is important for us to sustain life on earth, it should be open to anyone.
If a church claims to be intercultural but sticks to closed communion for only baptized adult members, it is a contradiction to both theological concordance and missional and intercultural openness. A closed communion has no biblical foundation.
The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective calls for closed communion, and this needs to be revisited. Three decades have passed since it was written in 1995, and the church has changed seismically.
In 1995, Holyrood Mennonite Church, where I currently serve, was a white congregation; now it is an African-dominant congregation. Over its 70-year history, its white pastoral leadership has also become interracial.
Shaping an intercultural church is all about contextualization. That’s the wisdom of Christian churches that have survived and sustained for the past 2,000 years: flexibility and adaptability.
According to Darrel L. Whiteman, a missiological anthropologist, “contextualization attempts to communicate the Gospel in word and deed and to establish the church in ways that make sense to people within their local cultural context, presenting Christianity in such a way that it meets people’s deepest needs and penetrates their worldview, thus allowing them to follow Christ and remain within their own culture.”
In the same vein, interpreting and applying the Bible should be done in context, with flexibility. Church doctrines and ordinances are no exception.
Eleanor Kreider writes that communion is “a personal encounter with Christ Jesus, the servant from above, who loves us, serves us, saves us, and calls us into fullness of life.” It should be kept and remembered as often as we can but should not be used to gate-keep.
No one can be separated from the grace of Christ’s salvific and transforming love. Communion now becomes an open, ecclesial invitation for all-in-one fellowship.
Joon Park serves as intentional interim co-pastor at Holyrood Mennonite Church in Edmonton. He can be reached at cwcfounder@gmail.com.
Read more Riding the Waves of Intercultural Church columns:
Invisible barriers to becoming an intercultural church
Beyond cosmetic diversity
The hopeful demise of ethnocentrism
(Unsplash photo by CHUTTERSNAP)
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