What’s involved?
Worship - which reflects on the greatness and goodness of God, the sacrificial life of Jesus and the operative activity of the Holy Spirit who makes us one.

Devotional - which recalls various aspects of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus which provides the basis of our access to God.

Response - sometimes the congregation is invited to respond with spontaneous prayers or other expressions of praise, thanksgiving and worship.

Invitation - explaining the meaning of communion, who should participate and the necessity of examining one's self before eating and drinking.

Prayer - of thanksgiving for the blessings that flow from God to sinners who respond to His love expressed through the death and life of His Son.

Communion - eating and drinking together with devotedness and reverence, remembering all our Lord and our Saviour has done for us.

Why so important?
A dominant series of themes related to communion emerge in both Old and New Testaments.
God is holy, awesome and merciful.
People have a noble "made after the image of God streak" - but since Adam they have been getting into trouble with one another and their Creator.
Human efforts at resolution are futile
God has taken effective measures to bring people into fellowship with Himself.
Jesus said to His followers, "do this in remembrance of me". 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

How often?
It's clear that the church of the New Testament celebrated it often. Its benefits demanded it. We meet together as they did, eating bread, which signifies the body of Christ broken for us and drinking wine, signifying Christ’s blood shed for us on the cross. The book of Acts suggests they did it daily in the beginning and probably on a weekly basis later on (Acts 20:7). According to I Corinthians 11 it continued to be done often. Vs 17- 22 do not sound like the description of a monthly or quarterly event. Although frequency is not specifically spelled out in Scripture, there are reasonable indications that it was celebrated on a weekly basis.

How should it be celebrated?
The Scriptures give surprisingly little attention to this question. The primary issues for the Lord was "Do you love me?" We may have personal opinions, strong feelings and nostalgic memories, but these are not the matters closest to the heart of the Lord. His searching questions are - do you love me? Do you trust me? Do you love the people I love – the way I love them?

Who should participate?
Everyone who has experienced the new life, which Jesus gives to those who trust Him is welcomed to eat and drink in loving remembrance. Whether one is a regular attendee or member of Bethany is not a requirement. If a person is "in Christ" they are welcome to participate in communion. Neither do we insist that believers be baptized before taking part.