Virtual Communion Airdrie/Beiseker Church first online service

Pastor Anthony Kern holding the communion pack.

On Sabbath, April 11 th , the Airdrie and Beiseker Churches celebrated their first online communion service. For one month, like many churches, Airdrie and Beiseker have been holding combined church services via the Zoom app. On this Sabbath, special communion packs, each with a small amount of grape juice and an embedded wafer in the top seal of the juice container, were used to carry out this service. Pastor Anthony Kern led out with Beiseker and Airdrie elders, Howard Hixt and Joel Adesina, who each offered a prayer over the emblems.

Airdrie and Beiseker Churches had already considered using individual communion packs.

According to Pastor Anthony, the idea for holding communion using these packs had been discussed while the churches were still open as a means of promoting good hygiene and social distancing. However, soon after the packs were ordered, the Alberta Government banned gatherings of over 50 people, thus forcing the online meetings instead. The church members were polled regarding their interest in a home version of communion, and their reply was a very enthusiastic “yes.” Over a twoweek period prior to the April 11th service, Pastor Anthony, with help from Beiseker’s head deacon, Ewalt Lang, delivered just over 100 packs to the church members’ doorsteps.

“I remembered how my parents, who are part of a large Anabaptist church, once used these packs in their church’s service. Knowing the current situation that we are in could go on for some time, I Googled ‘communion packs’ and was able to order them from Amazon,” recalled Pastor Anthony. In the weeks since online church services first began, the total number of participating devices during the Lord’s Supper was the highest yet: 87 at the time, with many of those devices being watched by couples and families as well. Participants were also offered the recipe for making their own communion bread, and some chose this option rather than the packet. The Lord’s Supper was followed with an invitation for church members to wash the feet of those in their own household. For members who were at home alone, Pastor Anthony led out in a devotional reading that allowed members to picture Jesus washing their feet as He had once done for the disciples.

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, Seventh-day Adventists everywhere are finding new ways to connect and worship together. While they may not be together physically, the Spirit of the Lord is joining hearts in a greater fulfillment of Jesus’ words than ever before: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20, NKJV).

Submitted by Les Miller, Assistant Communications Secretary, Airdrie Church Special Offering