Why Weekly Communion?

The Session of Michiana Covenant Church believes that, for the spiritual well-being of the body and for proper worship, communion should be observed every Lord’s Day.

Christ clearly commanded us to partake of communion (Matthew 26:26-27); however, frequency of this communion is not explicitly stated in the scriptures. The two views which have been judged among the Reformed churches to have the most biblical support are the quarterly (or seasonal) view, which draws a connection between communion and the Old Testament seasonal feasts, and the weekly view, which argues that communion is an integral part of the regular corporate worship of the church.

Critics of the weekly view argue that weekly observance of communion diminishes the special character of the sacrament. However, the same argument could be made for the other means of grace. Does weekly preaching and prayer make them any less special or effective? Even so, the Session intends to honor the quarterly communion view by calling for a seasonal communion celebration for churches in our region.

Our advocacy of weekly communion stems chiefly from our confession that communion is indeed a means of grace “whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation” (WLC 154). We confess that in the Lord’s Supper we “do . . . really and indeed . . . receive, and feed upon, Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death” (WCF 29.7) to our “spiritual nourishment and growth in grace” (WLC 168). For the health of the body of Christ, we judge that this means of grace should therefore be exercised frequently.

Weekly communion was a common practice in the early church and was revived during the Reformation by Strasbourg and other Reformed churches. Following their example, we seek to conform our worship to the model set forth in Scripture. As we have affirmed elsewhere (see “The Pattern of Worship at Michiana Covenant Church”), the heavenly pattern of worship demonstrated repeatedly in Scripture consistently culminates in the partaking of a covenant meal.

Accordingly, the sacrament of communion as commanded by Christ should be more than just an occasional addition to our worship service. Rather, it is the culmination or fulfillment of our worship every Lord’s Day. With it, we take with our hands, and eat with our mouths, the covenant meal which signifies and seals to us the eternal promises of God.