By Ken Williams
ROCHESTER, New York--In his April 16 Worldwide News "Personal" Pastor General Joseph Tkach wrote, "I pray that your Lord's Supper service was as inspiring and motivating as ours here in Pasadena!"
I'm thankful to say that God gave us, the brethren of the Rochester congregation, an inspiring and motivating service.
The Holy Spirit enabled us to appreciate, perhaps more than at any other time, the victory given us through Jesus.
Many stayed after the service talking about how meaningful the Lord's Supper was to them. It seemed as if we had just had the privilege to sit at the same table with our Savior, Jesus Christ. This has been a wonderful season of spiritual healing.
This year's service was made special by some guests who came to participate in the Lord's table with us. We were joined by two members of another Christian fellowship and a member who had been separated from us since the 1970s.
The members of the other fellowship were unable to travel home to attend services with their families and church so they sought us out.
We felt especially happy that we could share in the Lord's table with fellow Christians of another denomination and that they felt comfortable enough to accept our invitation.
We rejoiced and warmly welcomed back our sister in Christ who had been separated from us. It was encouraging that she felt she could return to our church. We consider this a miracle that God has performed and believe it is a sign that healing is taking place in our congregation.
Tom Lapacka, pastor of the Pasadena congregation, had prepared an invitation to the Lord's Supper that was included in the church bulletin there.
I modified this invitation so it could be given out in the Rochester congregation. As a result the Christians mentioned above felt welcome to join us. We also had two candidates for baptism come to observe.
This year's invitation broke barriers down and we anticipate more will respond next year. Of course that barrier has been broken down in many other ways. The invitation to the Lord's Supper service is one example.
God invited more to our table than we anticipated this year and that made it special for us. We sensed that we are a part of a much larger body. We desire to open our doors to more guests, and hopefully, more brethren who have been hurt in the past. God is doing something special and we are thankful to be a part of it.
My wife, Nancy, and I experienced the grace and hospitality of God this year by visiting the United Methodist Church for Resurrection Sunday services.
I asked the pastor, Pat Poag, a friend of mine, if it was appropriate for guests to participate in communion with them. He said: "Of course it is. We don't participate in the United Methodist's table, we eat from the Lord's table. All who believe in and follow our Lord Jesus Christ are welcome to join us."
I participated in this wonderful service with them experiencing the meaning of 1 Corinthians 10:17 with new understanding: "Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
Ken and Nancy Williams pastor the Rochester, New York, church, and Ken is a regional pastor.
Ken and Nancy Williams
May 21, 1996, Worldwide News, page six
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