Preserving the Body

At our church we take communion once a month. It is typically placed on the communion table at the front of the sanctuary. There are two plates with the bread (wafers) and one with the wine (grape juice). Then there is a tablecloth placed over the whole thing.

Well, two months ago, when the elders tried to uncover it, one guy grabbed the tablecloth below AND above the plates and almost dumped one of the bread plates into the floor.

So this month, the elders decided that it was too clumsy to remove the tablecloth. Instead of covering the communion plates, they left the tablecloth off and lit two pillar candles on glass pedestals. It was really pretty, if you ask me.

We took communion and then had a scripture reading. Next I had to lead a hymn, which happened to be the offertory hymn. On the last verse, the ushers come forward to pray over the offering, and then they "pass the plate." As they pray, I always go down the stairs and sit with the congregation. (No one wants to look at the pregnant music director for the whole sermon, ya know?). The usher who was praying said "Amen," and there was total silence as I walked down the steps.

Only......I knocked the pillar candle over. The glass pedestal flew into the plate with the bread in it and the lid went flying about three rows out. The candle turned over into the plate, sealing the bread to the bottom with wax.

I calmly put the candle back, picked up the lid and re-covered the plate, and went to my seat.

Then I laughed all the way through the service, thinking about how funny it would have been if I would have set the whole plate on fire.