HOLLY COMMUNION FOR THE CHILDREN: Some Notes After The Second Service

We're here in GKJW Tunglur had done child communion together with the adult twice. The first was in Ecumenical Day and the last one was in Advent Opening last year. It was thrilling, yet felicitate, since we're never doing that in GKJW and even the legally verdict to impose that sacrament isn't finally resolved yet. As our church system is synodal, it needs synod's general assembly to decide the foist among our congregations.

But for us, there are, at least, two reasons why we did it earlier. The first is in this time of trial, no other way to evaluate and learn something better but by doing it. We already held a study, sharing, and discussion about this sacrament among church members since at least the latter half of 2015. We have regular bible study and PTWG (Pembinaan Teologi Warga Gereja = Theological Study of Laypersons) here every third and fourth Thursday each months. So after a year study, we decided to do and evaluate it after the second service. And the second reason, we see it as good, even great, thing to be seen in theological view and value. To embrace all in following God is everything in Christianity. To postpone a good thing is unkind. Especially we know that communion for children is not matter of yes or no, but mere about when it will be generally imposed. To begin something good is always heart warming.

We had many questions at first. Even if we'd already studied for enough time and reached for an agreement that it is good, we're still asking could we face it practically. How it would be done technically. Would our adult church member and the children comfortable to each other in this kind of sacred rite together. Would the children have kind attitude during the service (that was actually the main anxiety of doing this sacrament). And many other questions. But after the twice we'd finally known that the main reason to be worried is passed, the thinking that children may disrupt the sanctity of the holy communion wasn't happen at all. They can keep their attitude gracefully as angels. If they talk to each other, sometimes, it was in bearable measure.

But there several things I need to say before about GKJW Tunglur and service together with the children. As I've seen, it is common in here we found our little children running along and laughing in the middle of church service for adult. We're even laughing on that kind of situation. I think that is the greatness among those people i serve, their opened mind about grasp the children in faith building is delightful. Maybe our small in number makes us to keep one another tight and yet tenderly. The next is we tried to did different approach in communion with the children, at first we give the children their group seats so they could be together with all the kids (and our children is no more than 15 kids) and in the second communion we asked the parents to accompany their children. It was a next realization. That becomes a symbol of parent's responsibility to their children's faith. And the second time is better than the first. GKJW Tunglur is not a big church, so in terms of control toward situation and behavior during the service is easier to be compared with big churches. And before every communion service, we had at least two times preparatory meetings, either for the kids or the adults. That preparatory meetings were really conditioning.

And last Thursday we did evaluation meeting to discuss this sacrament. Most of laypersons were coming, adult and children. After I gave the emphasize about what is our revised church regulation about sacrament, we talked casually. There were few things we considered during that meeting:

1. We support holy communion service for children. Theologically it's very reasonable and fulfilling. So is traditionally. The main thing we kept in our very heart that holly communion or sacrament in general is celebration of joy, that Christ wide opens his arms to every people want to come to His love. If the children have a right to take baptism, as the consequences they are able to take holly communion as well. The present of the children do not disrupt the communion at all as long as the parents and the adults are taking part to guide them.
2. We don't have a well prepared liturgy yet that embrace the language of children in this kind of service. For children an hour and half to two hours isn't comforting, especially if the vibe of our liturgy is intended to the adult. We need a liturgy that is friendly to both kids and other.
3. Before we have a good shape liturgy as been spoken above, it is wise to separate the children and the adult holly communion. But in the children section, they still need to be accompanied by the parent as a form of their responsibility for their children's faith. But after we have a right liturgy, it is better to do this communion together.
4. We did feast of love for children each moment we had holly communion for adult in the past. The communion for children shouldn't eliminate that tradition. Because there are difference purpose between communion and feast of love in term of church tradition.
5. The practical and technical way of holy communion together with the child should be wise and well prepared. The workflow of the service needs to run smoothly and do not broken by its unfinished discourse of its practical and technical things. So the meaning of the service do not vanished or diminished because of practical and technical side.