I run a very small, very simple liturgical service once a month – Commoners. It has a few consistent elements including prayer, personal confession, scripture reading and silence, but the central element of it is Holy Communion. In recent years I have come to the conclusion that the sacrament of Holy Communion is the central communal practice of the Christian faith. Its beauty within the Christian community is beyond comparison with anything else we do. I know that’s not a revelation for many.

The service I facilitate happens in an oldish building with absolutely no bells and whistles. I set up a simple altar from which I lead the liturgy and administer Holy Communion. Right next door is a very street level gym – you won’t find your usual gym bunnies there. Throughout the service music can be heard through the wall (Marvin Gay provided part of the soundtrack during the last service and we ended with the Doobie Brothers version of Jesus is Just Alright being heard… a little ironic) along with the voices of the guys in the gym… often peppered with language that could easily offend if one was so inclined. Alongside those sounds comes the pounding of boxing bags. I love it. I have been encouraged to think about shifting the service to a quieter part of the building to better facilitate the sense of silence and contemplation but I won’t do it as there is something inherently beautiful about the environment and celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion there.

As a Wesleyan Methodist I hold to a theology of Holy Communion that sits nicely between the literalism of transubstantiation (the bread and wine literally becoming the body and blood of Jesus for the recipient) and the low view of the elements being pure symbolism held amongst many evangelical churches. I believe that as we participate in Holy Communion we are participating in the mysterious presence of the body and blood of Christ. I am satisfied with the ambiguity of that mystery. It means that I believe that when we celebrate Holy Communion as a faithful community, we participate in the presence of Christ, we open ourselves to his grace, but we also unite with the universal Church through the world and throughout history. Because of this belief I resonate with John Wesley who encouraged us to participate in it as often as possible.

That unity of the Church through the practice of the sacrament both in the present and throughout history is part of the beauty, though there are various views about what takes place and who should be able to participate. I love participating in it in high church cathedrals with all the reverence, symbolism and richness of such places and services. The mystery of the presence in the sacrament is alive and well in such places. It is entirely at home there. I love participating in it in the living room of someone’s home. The mystery of the presence in the sacrament is alive and well in such places. It is entirely at home there. I love that it has been practised in jungles, deserts, atop mountains, in the wealthiest of areas and the poorest of areas, in prisons, rest homes, hospitals, pubs and everywhere else imaginable. The mystery of the presence in the sacrament is alive and well in such places. It is entirely at home there. Christ is to be found in all such places and the sacrament expresses the reality of that incarnational presence.

The sacrament, where it is faithfully practised, brings to life the incarnation of the Almighty through Jesus. It demonstrates and makes real the life of Jesus, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension and the promise of the all encompassing justice to come. It reminds us, as Christians, throughout the ups and downs of life, of the faith we hold to. It recaptures our imagination and retells our story in the face of competing narratives that would seek to shape us. Therefore we should do it regularly and often.

With all this in mind, as it does in the loftiest cathedral it also entirely has a place in an old hall with a simple makeshift altar and the sounds of a street gym pounding through the wall next door. It has a place there because Christ has a place there, as he does everywhere. He is always with us. His spirit is active throughout the world no matter what the place is and the sacrament of Holy Communion brings us back to that reality time and time again.