On the first Sunday of each month we have communion at our Presbyterian church here in Gainesville. We take communion by intinction. That means we line up to take the bread and the wine ( grape juice in our church ) from the first pew in front to the back. When I was a child and until adulthood the preferred method was for an elder to prepare the juice in small glasses which held about one tablespoon . These little glasses were placed into a large silver, deep plate with a cover which had lots of openings for the glasses to rest in. The elders served the congregation as they sat in their pews. First however, they served everyone with small squares of bread or wafers, then the wine. Some churches have the participants hold the host (consecrated wafer) until the wine is served. In other churches this sacrament is called the Eucharist and real wine may be served.
The celebration of Holy Communion has always been an emotional time for me as I am remembering the many times my father served communion to me. For as long as I can remember he served as an elder in the same church, which is still alive and well back in Harlan, Ky. It took a little adjustment on my part to become comfortable taking communion by intinction.
Today my friend of long standing, Lou Germain was sitting in front of me with her husband. She was in line in front of me today and I could not resist tapping her on her shoulder when I stepped into line. She had gone before me and did not know I was there. She turned her head and smiled at me, as only she can smile. Lou is one of the true blue southern ladies of the church and she came all the way from Michigan years ago to become a true southern lady. It gave me great pleasure to take this sacred ceremony right after Lou. You see, we have a bond of long standing. We taught first graders for years in the same school, on the same hall, and right across the hall from each other.
Our friendship grew from that time we spent working together for the training of the young charges given to us each year. One day she told me that she was planning on moving to the area where I lived. I told her that if she would join the church where I worshiped we could see each other every week. Well, bless her heart, that is just what she did. She has been active in our church in the choir, teaching our circle class and engaging in many more activities.
Lou has a wonderful way of telling stories and when something is amusing she has a delightful giggle to accompany the story. Most people just "guffaw", or at least I do, but Lou has a little girl giggle and it is most pleasing. I once saw a picture of Lou and her husband when they were very young. He was in a sailor uniform from the second world war time. I could see why he fell in love with her. She was petite and pretty and no doubt had that little girl giggle.
A lot of emotions came to the fore this morning for me . Remembering past communions, past experiences with Lou and being with a body of fellow Christians. to make the morning even better, as I was leaving the sanctuary a friend came over to me and said she had something for me. It was green tea someone had given her, far more than she could use, three tins of it. So she was sharing it with me. When I got home the first thing I did when I entered the house was to put on fresh water to boil. I had a choice of tea pots and I picked up one which makes individual cups of tea. It was given to me by a hostess at Alexis Gardens at Toledo, Ohio where my sister was living. It made a fine cup of green tea which I enjoyed immediately.
The other thing that made enjoying this tea special was the tea cup I used. Years ago, my friend who had just given me the green tea, had given me a special cup. It has pretty flowers painted on it and bees flying around with the words on it "if it is to bee, it's up to me". That is a great message to adopt as a mantra. So often we think we need someone else to take the first step in a friendship.
It is said that a smile is contagious. I think that is true. Only this morning I was in the nursery when our newest member, three months old,was brought in by his mother. He was looking all around and his eyes fell on me. I smiled my biggest smile and said something soothing to him. He burst out in a huge grin and wiggled his whole body. That is another happy moment to complete my day of Christian fellowship.
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