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Saipan Methodists to mark World Communion Sunday
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Posted on Oct 01 2004
Saipan Methodists will join together this Sunday, Oct. 3, for the annual World Communion Service celebration. Persons unable to attend their own church services are welcome to join in this annual celebration that will be held in the Kagman Elementary School cafeteria starting at 10am.
The first Worldwide Communion Celebration for Protestant Christians was held in 1936 as America struggled to overcome the economic difficulties of the Great Depression. A group of Presbyterian pastors met in 1935 to discuss ways to provide better spiritual care to America and the wider world. One idea was to hold an annul communion service the first Sunday of November when Christ would be especially honored as the Lord of Peace. The time coincided with the Nov. 11 Armistice Day commemorations, honoring those who served and died in World War I. The organizers’ dream was to show that world communion was more powerful than world conflict.
Over the years other Christian churches around the world have joined in this annual celebration the first Sunday of October. American Methodists first participated in the celebration in 1940, on the eve of America’s entry into World War II. A special offering was received for the Fellowship of Suffering and Service and overseas relief efforts, especially for war-torn European nations. In recent years the special offering has been designated for educational scholarships for ethnic minority college students. This year there will also be a special offering to support Guma Esperansa, CNMI’s shelter for women victims of domestic violence.
Saipan Methodist congregations include the Korean-speaking Immanuel Methodist Church, Immanuel Methodist Filipino Congregation and English-speaking Immanuel United Methodist Church. For further information about this special service, readers may contact Pastor Bud Carroll at 322-6158.
