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Today is World Communion Sunday. Christian churches all over the world are celebrating holy communion with us today. It is a symbol of the church’s unity around the world. In the United Methodist Church, all are invited to participate in communion. We believe that God’s grace can work through our participation in this holy meal, even if we don’t fully understand it; member or not, no matter what age. It is a mystery that we enter into together as a community of faith. World Communion Sunday special offering is one of six special offerings that we United Methodists take during the year. This one goes toward helping students with their college and other higher education costs by providing scholarships. There is a lot of symbolism happening here. Followers of Jesus need to be fed, (physically, spiritually, mentally), in order to walk in his footsteps and serve like he did. If we are not fed regularly, (taking him into who we are), we will not be able to keep up after a while. The world has a way of wearing us down. Followers of Jesus need to leave behind what’s dragging us down, so we can move forward and grow into who God needs us to be. At communion, we symbolically drop our burdens at the altar and lift our hands to receive Jesus in a real way, (his body and blood). We have a chance to symbolically become new people as we take this meal; letting go of the old as we come forward and walking into a new way of living when we return to our seats. As you come forward to receive communion today, I invite you to think about your fellow Christians in Russia/China/Iran/Palestine/India/Iraq/Kenya/Congo/The Philippines, etc., doing the same thing. Grace & Peace,