Admitting Guests to the Lord’s Supper
In the broader Reformed/Presbyterian context, it is common to fence the Lord’s Supper with a verbal warning only. Typically that means that the minister makes an announcement inviting any guests to participate who are communicant members in good standing in an evangelical church, or something to that effect. For some years, this was one of the sticking points that obstructed the establishment of ecclesiastical fellowship between the Canadian Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Eventually, an agreement was reached which paved the way for full ecumenical relations between the CanRC and the OPC. You can find that agreement here.
Last week, amongst the Canadian Reformed Churches, a Classis Central Ontario was held. Admission to the Lord’s Supper was on the agenda. We find this reported in the press release (find the full document here):
The Classis ad hoc committee submitted a report on the Lord’s Supper admission as mandated by CCO June 10, 2016. The report, which included an appendix from Burlington Fellowship, was deemed admissible. A discussion ensued. Classis having reviewed the committee report, decided that Burlington-Fellowships practice of inviting guests with only a strong verbal warning from the pulpit is not in line with the Church Order.
I mention this without any further comment at this time, except to say that I agree with the classis decision.