William Gore: A Puseyite in Parramatta

This article examines the way one nineteenth-century clergyman of the Church of England in Australia, William Gore, was influenced by the Oxford Movement. Gore was the incumbent of the parish of All Saints Church, North Parramatta in Sydney. He implemented liturgical practices valued by the Oxford Movement, including wearing a surplice to preach rather than a Geneva gown, reading the Offertory sentences in the service of Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer, celebrating the Holy Communion on the saints days set in the Prayer Book and placing a cross on the holy table. He was supported by his bishop, William Grant Broughton. The reaction from parishioners was surprise, shock and opposition and he was branded as a ‘Puseyite’. This article uses local primary material, including press reports of parish meetings, to describe the reactions of parishioners in parish meetings against Gore’s liturgical uses. Gore’s activities are assessed as an important early example of the Oxford Movement’s influence in the Church of England in Australia. Gore’s practices, discussed in the public domain, provide evidence that the Oxford Movement was beginning to transform the nineteenth-century liturgical worship of the Church of England in Australia.

Misa Online: Solusi Sementara dan Bermasalah

<p><em>The ecclesiastical leaders have made policies that encourage the faithful to worship at home as a part of the effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Online Mass became a principal solution to fulfill Sunday's obligations. This article aims to evaluate the online Mass practice from the believers' perspective. To study people's attitudes towards online Masses, interviews were conducted and results showed that people in general were dissatisfied with this practice. Underlying the dissatisfaction were assumptions, which need to be clarified, for example, that Mass as being identical to Holy Communion is considered the only way to fulfill the Sunday's obligations. In fact, there are a number of religious practices and doctrinal teachings that could serve as better alternatives to the Eucharistic celebration on Sundays. This paper concludes that online Mass is not the right solution to the problem of worship during the pandemic.</em></p><p><em></em><strong><em>Key words</em></strong><em>: </em>Covid-19, kewajiban hari Minggu, misa daring, Komuni Kudus, communio</p>

Finding Balance and Harmony

As Christianity arrived on the shores of Singapore closely following British colonization, Western missionaries introduced their interpretation of the Holy Communion into a foreign land and space that was experiencing its first brushes with Western modernity. Contemporaneously, the movement of modernity continues to make an impact upon an important element of life closely intertwined with religious folk practices and culture of locals: food. In the face of modernizing foodscapes and primordial religious backgrounds, converts from Chinese religious traditions to Christianity find themselves navigating the dissonance of Western Holy Communion theologies with the Chinese philosophies of food. How might churches in Singapore begin to respond to the tensions arising when these two philosophical systems meet, and when Christians and churches seem to appropriate “syncretistic” theologies into their liturgical behavior? This article undertakes an interdisciplinary effort by employing social science to explore the modernizing of food in Singapore, as well as engaging Chinese philosophies of food and the body to explain tensions among converts from Chinese religious traditions, and the resistance of local churches towards Chinese understandings of food rituals in the partaking of the Holy Communion. It will also briefly propose that interdisciplinary studies, including liturgical studies, will be essential in developing a more robust theology of the Holy Communion among churches, thereby enhancing its witness within and without.

Rethinking the Eucharist in the aftermath of COVID-19 disruptions: A comparative study of Reformed and Pentecostal theology of sacraments

This contribution recommends a re-thinking of Christian traditions with regards to sacraments and use of technology in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is a comparative study that employed field observations from two congregations with different traditions: one from Protestant Reformed tradition and another from Pentecostal Charismatic background to analyse how they conducted Holy Communion services. By highlighting positive aspects of COVID-19 disruptions on traditional practices, the study challenged traditional understanding of ‘sacred space’ and re-appropriates the virtual role of a priest as symbolic embodiment of the presence of Christ extended through virtual, audio and tele-visual presence. The contribution also demonstrated how ontological questions help us discern what separates the sacred from the secular and concluded that the transformative nature of the sacrament of the Holy Communion has a uniquely power-levelling role in communities.Contribution: This article contributes to conversations on the role of technology in sacraments within the Reformed Christian tradition and presents a systematic and practical reflection on the intersecting modes of sacramental practices within different Christian traditions.

Celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion during COVID-19: A Methodist perspective

This article forms part of the change agents special collection. It investigates the way the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has engaged the question of practicing Holy Communion in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. Mainly using communiques by the Office of the Presiding Bishop and contributions made by clergy and laity on the practice of online worship services, and Holy Communion in particular, the article not only describes points of contention but also matters for consideration in balancing church polity whilst being contextually present and relevant. The article then celebrates the work of the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship Commission (DEWCOM) of the MCSA in potentially providing a way forward for the denomination that holds polity and relevance together in meaningful tension.Contribution: This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa on how the sacrament of Holy Communion should be practiced in the context of a social lockdown as precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fashion and Faith: Girls and First Holy Communion in Twentieth-Century Ireland (c. 1920–1970)

With a focus on clothing, bodies, and emotions, this article examines girls’ First Holy Communions in twentieth-century Ireland (c. 1920–1970), demonstrating that Irish girls, even at an early age, embraced opportunities to become both the center of attention and central faith actors in their religious communities through the ritual of Communion. A careful study of First Holy Communion, including clothing, reveals the importance of the ritual. The occasion was indicative of much related to Catholic devotional life from independence through Vatican II, including the intersections of popular religion and consumerism, the feminization of devotion, the centrality of the body in Catholicism, and the role that religion played in forming and maintaining family ties, including cross-generational links. First Communion, and especially the material items that accompanied it, initiated Irish girls into a feminized devotional world managed by women and especially mothers. It taught them that purchasing, hospitality, and gift-giving were central responsibilities of adult Catholic women even as it affirmed the bonds between women family members who helped girls prepare for the occasion.

THEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE HOLY COMMUNION PRACTICES IN THE CHURCH ERA

The author conducts research on the theological study of the practice of the communion of the church in today's era so that it can find the implications of the meaning in holy communion. The research used is a literature analysis approach that uses various relevant literature sources. The study of Holy Communion reminds us of the importance of fellowship with fellow members of the body of Christ. The Sacrament of Holy Communion has been a part of the life of the Church since the time of the Lord Jesus until now. Until now, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is still an interesting subject. In this discussion, Paul's teachings on the Sacrament of Holy Communion will be described to contribute to the administration of the sacrament. Holy Communion in the Lord's Churches today. Then followed by a reflection for the practice of Holy Communion today: What is the significance of the theological dimension in the practice of Holy Communion today? The hadil of this paper will be produced with practical tips for incorporating and presenting the theological dimension in the practice of the Lord's Supper today.

The Theology of the Holy Eucharist and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation

Holy Communion is one of the seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. With Baptism and Confirmation, they constitute the sacraments of Initiation. Similarly, with the Word of God, they constitute the two indispensable pillars upon which the Church is built. It is the “fount and apex of the whole Christian life” (LG 11). It is named Holy Eucharist because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. It recalls God’s work of creation, redemption, and sanctification. The Eucharistic elements, bread and wine become, by the prayer of consecration and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, Christ's Body and Blood through an act appropriately known as transubstantiation. The term emphasizes the conversion of the total substance of bread and wine into the entire substance of the Body and Blood of Christ. When the bread and wine are consecrated at Mass, they are no longer bread and wine; they have become instead the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the words of Christ. The empirical appearances and attributes remain the same, but the underlying reality changes. Therefore, the doctrine of transubstantiation teaches without ambiguity that in the Holy Communion, the Body and Blood, together with the soul and divinity, of the Lord Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained. How is this understood and what is its implication theologically? In an attempt to elucidate this problem, this work seeks first to highlight the theology of the Holy Eucharist within the context of the ecclesiology of Communion, and second, through some theological themes: sacred memorial and sacrificial banquet; eschatological meal. The third and final part treats the theme of real presence under the rubrics of Transubstantiation. Keywords: Transubstantiation, Eschatological Meal, Memorial, Real Presence, Communion, Eucharistic conversion.

Pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting: The case of the Baptist Convention of South Africa

This study attempted to explore the role of pastors in a congregational church setting by using the Baptist Convention of South Africa (BCSA) as a case study. The focus is on the type of leadership relevant for such a system. A proper understanding of congregational church governance and biblical pastoral leadership is encouraged. It is argued that the BCSA would do well to adopt an attitude that views ‘congregational church governance’ as ‘sacramental democracy’, where church members view church meetings to be just as holy as any other sacrament, for example, a holy communion or baptism. Such an understanding of congregational governance offers an environment that is conducive to effective pastoral leadership. The pastor relates to the church as a biblical leader, who uses his or her authority to empower others, as the pastor is also under the authority of Jesus Christ as a follower.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study has significance for Christian Ethics, Practical Theology and New Testament. It is undertaken within (intra-) the Christian leadership discourse, with interest in Applied Ethics that combines Philosophical, Theological and Human Science approaches, especially with reference to (South) African sociopolitical and ecclesiastical contexts. The research builds on the existing Christian leadership discourse.

Church Tradition and Culture: No Admission of Children to the Holy Communion

Abstrak Penulis mendiskusikan sikap penolakan terhadap kehadiran anak-anak penerima baptisan dalam perayaan Perjamuan Kudus sebagaimana yang dipraktekkan kebanyakan jemaat dalam lingkungan Gereja Kristen Jawa (GKJ). Bertolak dari penelitian terhadap Pokok-Pokok Ajaran (PPA) GKJ, penulis menunjukkan adanya inkonsistensi dalam penerapan PPA-GKJ. Pada satu sisi GKJ memahami Perjamuan Kudus sebagai perlambang kehidupan keluarga Allah. Tetapi pada sisi lain, anak-anak penerima baptisan tidak terhisab dalam keluarga Allah sehingga ditolak kehadirannya dalam Perjamuan Kudus. Ada dua penyebab yang melandasi praktek ini. Pertama, penetapan persyaratan yang terlalu tinggi bagi keikut-sertaan dalam Perjamuan Kudus. Kedua, masih kuat pengaruh paham dalam budaya Jawa tradisional tentang anak-anak sebagai kaum yang tidak bisa disetarakan dengan orang dewasa. Perspektif rangkap dari Roberth Schreiter yakni membuka tradisi gereja dan membuka budaya dipakai penulis untuk memperlihatkan bahwa penolakan terhadap anak-anak dalam Perjamuan Kudus merupakan tindakan yang bertentangan dengan hakikat Perjamuan Kudus. Abstract The author discusses the prohibition of entry of baptized children in the celebration of Holy Communion as practiced by most congregations in Christian Church of Java (Gereja Kristen Jawa/GKJ, Bahasa Indonesia). Drawing from the research conducted on the Principle Teachings (Pokok-Pokok Ajaran/PPA, Bahasa Indonesia) of GKJ, the author explains that there are inconsistencies in the implementation of PPA-GKJ. On one hand, GKJ understands that the Holy Communion is a symbol of life in God’s family. On the other hand, baptized children are not included within God’s family, which is the reason why they are not allowed to attend Holy Communion. There are two main reasons why this happens. First, difficult requirement for the permission to attend Holy Communion. Second, strong traditional Javanese ideology to exclude children from adult activities. The author employs Double perspective from Roberth Schreiter to analyze church tradition and culture to show that excluding children from Holy Communion contrasts to the main essence of Holy Communion.