Letters Received in faith Readers ponder the ‘real presence’ in the eucharist, cite reasons for church decline
I served as an interim pastor for a church in the Metropolitan Wash- ington, D.C., Synod. The first Sunday there, a couple came up the aisle for communion (“Jesus on the brain” November, page 30) with their three sons. The eldest son confidently held his hands up to me for a piece of the bread and responded to “the body of Christ, given for you” with a quiet “Amen” and headed back to the pew. The next brother did the same. I pre- pared to give the third son, about 4, a blessing, but he held out his hands. I looked down the aisle for some guid- ance—the grandparents both nod- ded their heads. I offered the boy communion. A month later, I asked the grandparents how it came to be that a 4-year-old was communing. When he was 3 or so, the family came to church and all received commu-
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nion except him. He made a fuss as his parents embarrassedly carried him back to the pew. This contin- ued week after week. Finally the pas- tor decided to ask him why this was such a big issue. The boy’s answer: “Every week we come to church and everyone in my family gets to receive Jesus. Am I not also a member of this family? Why am I being left out?” So the parents and pastor decided the answer was simple: If he was a mem- ber of his family, and that is what they did together, we ought to include him with the rest of the family. The pas- tor explained to the boy what com- munion was about (after all, the real presence in the eucharist is a mys- tery, received in faith). The parents also remind their son: This is God’s food that we receive and, in so doing, Jesus becomes part of us. The boy communes every week just like every other member of his family. The Rev. Chris Miller Camarilla, Calif.
Gun violence I found it perplexing that in the arti- cle “Congregations respond to gun violence” (December, page 36) the writer never mentions gun regula- tion. In light of the controversial nature of this subject, I can under- stand that the author may not have wanted to make it the main subject, but it is astonishing to me that an article on gun violence in a church periodical fails even to mention the subject. The Rev. Jerry L. Folk Madison, Wis.
Well done! “Food for body & soul” (November, page 28) is an excellent article. Well done! For about 10 months, we have had dinner at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. We go every month and bring friends with us. The Rev. Roger K. Ose Richfield, Minn.
Membership decline ELCA churches are in decline. According to data compiled by ELCA Research and Evaluation, 82 percent of ELCA congregations declined by 5 percent or more in average church attendance between 2000 and 2013. One reason is that the organized church is more concerned with the needs of their pastors than they are with the needs of the people. My daughter was in the hospital for spi- nal cord surgery and wanted com- munion from a Lutheran chaplain but was refused because she was not Lutheran. When my parents died, we wanted their funeral to be held on a Saturday so all of us children [could attend], but we were told by the pas- tor that was not possible because of a conference that weekend. The pastor’s needs were more impor- tant than ours, although our parents were members of that congregation for more than 30 years. I know that pastors are human and have needs like everyone else, but when their needs take priority over the needs of the congregations they serve, people notice. David Moe Sun City, Calif.
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