The school Eucharist

Why the Eucharist in school?

An article by Canon John Hall, 26 June 2000.

"The centre of the Church's mission."

It was said of Church schools - that they stand at the centre of the Church's mission to the nation - by General Synod in November 1998.

There were two intentions behind the wording: description and aspiration.

It was partly a description of fact.

Through the schools originally provided and in many ways sustained by the Church, the Church reaches families and whole communities it wouldn't otherwise reach.

It was partly a statement of aspiration.

Church schools should so clearly reflect the character of the Church that the Church's mission of service to the nation, to the community, generous and open but with the Gospel beating visibly beneath the surface, could be directly fulfilled through the work of Church schools.

There are many aspects to the Church's mission ("mission" means what the Church is "sent" to be and to do) but they all flow out from and are sustained by the worship of God, which lies at the very centre of the Church's life. The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, "What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever." (The catechism, of course, predates inclusive language.)

If Church schools are to be central to the Church's mission, they will reflect this centrality of worship to the life of the Church. In fact some wonderful worship takes place in Church schools, centred on God but also centred on the school community. Moreover it is often an attractive way into the worshipping Church for parents who would otherwise find the Church door forbidding, thus fulfilling both aspects of mission mentioned so far.

The characteristic form of Christian worship is the Eucharist, sometimes called the Lord's Supper, or the Mass, or Holy Communion. The Eucharist is celebrated in many Church schools. Others understand the importance of educating their pupils in Christian worship, including the Eucharist, but find it difficult to see the value for young pupils or those who cannot receive Holy Communion and might feel excluded. They perhaps should look more widely at the meaning of the Eucharist. Holy Communion is an important part but there is much more to it than that.

"Eucharist" is the Greek word for thanksgiving, the ancient name restored, and has become increasingly current as the name for the service of Holy Communion in the Church of England over the last thirty years. The name focuses attention on the so-called Eucharistic prayer, the Prayer of Thanksgiving, when the bread and wine are consecrated using the words of our Lord, rather than on the act of Holy Communion which follows it. This giving of thanks is an offering of ourselves to God, in which we "enter into the movement of Christ's self-offering to the Father". It is the association of ourselves with Christ's self-offering that alone makes our offering acceptable.

Another ancient name for the Eucharist also focuses attention away from the act of Holy Communion. This is the biblical name, found in St Luke's Gospel and in St Luke's second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.

Remember the journey to Emmaus, described by St Luke (Luke 24.13-35), on the day of the resurrection. Two disciples, Clopas and his companion, having heard strange rumours, have nevertheless given up hope and decided to return home. On their journey, they are joined by the risen Lord Jesus but do not at first recognize him. He explains to them the things said about him in the Scriptures (the Old Testament) and their hearts burn within them but still they fail to recognize him. They arrive at Emmaus and he makes as if to go on. But they say, "It's late. Stay with us." During supper in the inn, they recognize Jesus "at the breaking of bread". They are so excited that they rush back to Jerusalem to tell their fellow disciples.

St Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles four characteristics of the life of the early Church (Acts 2.42). "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." The "breaking of bread" would have evoked for them the Last Supper at which Jesus had taken bread, given thanks for it, broken it and given it, saying "Do this to remember me." It would be the moment at which they recognized the living Jesus with them, as those disciples had at Emmaus.

So, firstly an act of thanksgiving and self-offering and secondly recognizing Jesus in the breaking of bread: these are two of the many meanings of the Eucharist for pupils and others who might not be able to receive Holy Communion (despite the recent changes in Church discipline affecting many dioceses).