Altars
and Communion Tables
The night before he was crucified, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his friends.
He took a piece of bread and said, "This is my body, broken for you."
Then he took the
wine and said, "This is my blood, shed for you."
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The altar - or communion table - is where the bread and wine are put when the church remembers this meal and what Jesus said. |
| Members of the church come to the table or altar. They eat a small piece of bread and take a sip of wine. |
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This
may be called: |
This altar is in a new church 'planted' by an older church.
The letters on
the altar cloth are not i
h c, but Greek letters:
They
are the first three letters of JESUS in Greek.
Sometimes
you see them as capital letters like this: 
Above this altar is a picture of the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples. This is based on 'The Last Supper,' a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
Some churches prefer to us a simple wooden communion table.
For the service of Holy Communion, they often cover it with a white cloth.
Ar other times it may have an open Bible on it - like this.
This
communion table is in a Baptist Church.
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Here are three very different altars and communion tables.
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Why do you think some churches like very rich and ornate altars and others prefer a simple wooden table?
Which of these do you like best?
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This
altar frontal illustrates using the five senses during
communion. Can you Could
you create a design for an altar frontal? As a
big project, a group could |
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