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 In The United Methodist Church, children can participate in the Lord's Supper. Some Christian educators make the point that even though children may not understand the Lord's Supper, they can experience God's love and acceptance in the shared practice of the congregation.
I recently saw that demonstrated. When my congregation celebrated a reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant, two-year-old Kate was given a small white shell from the bowl of water. When she put it into her mouth, her mother explained that Kate is used to eating the bread from Communion and so assumed that this is what she should do with the shell. Is Kate just responding to religious habit? Does the Lord's Supper have any meaning for her? Yes and no. Kate comes to a traditional worship service almost every week. She is comfortable in worship. She is learning what Christians do in worship. Kate is learning that worship is what her family does on a regular basis, that her family values worship and finds it meaningful. At this stage of her life, worship is a habit.
The purpose of Christian education is to help children develop holy habits. Spiritual disciplines are practices that open us to grace. They are means of grace because they are the places God promises to meet us in daily life.
It is important that children have consistent worship experiences. It is even more important that children are taught the meaning of what happens in the liturgy.
In Sprouts, children learn how to live in the world as disciples of Jesus Christ. They learn how to practice their faith in acts of devotion, worship, kindness, and justice. That's why it is so important that Sprouts participate in worship and that they learn about worship and the Lord's Supper.
I recommend that Sprouts leaders enlist the help of their pastor to teach about the meaning and importance of worship and the Lord's Supper. For instance, Sprouts can see the connections between the manna in the desert, Jesus' petition to "Give us today our daily bread," his feeding the five thousand, and the last supper with his disciples to what happens during
the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper will become a meaning-filled experience in which children experience God's love in the sharing of bread and cup. This is one more excellent argument for weekly celebration of the sacrament.
Kate doesn't fully understand what baptism or the Lord's Supper are, but she knows that God loves her because every Sunday she goes to a place where she is loved and nurtured. These experiences can be built upon in a Sprouts group so that regular worship and participation in the Lord's Supper become holy habits that open her to grace.
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