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HISTORY and TIMES of THE KINGDOM |
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Doctrine: Communion: One of the restored sacrements of Kingdom theology is the Holy Communion, or "Lord's Supper" as it is more commonly referred to within the fellowship. There are certain attributes regarding this sacrement that Kingdom members are taught are unique to their fellowship, namely, that the bread and wine actually become THE body and THE blood of our Lord when the pastor prays for a blessing from heaven. What most Kingdom members do not realize is that the Lutheran and Catholic churches have for centuries treated the sacrement in a similar vein; the bread and the cup are treated as the actual living entities. The major difference or wrinkle here, however, being that the priest actually calls Christ down from heaven to, in a certain sense, be sacrificed again, whereas the Kingdom member practices this embodiment simply as an act of faith. Somehow, in a way that cannot be understood, the bread and wine are ingested as his body and blood. It has been expressed that the Kingdom subscribes to "Consubstantiation" as opposed to "Transubstantiation". Kingdom teaching puts forth the concept that prior to Sandford's act of restoring Communion in 1902, that any communion or mass prior to that time was, in effect, counterfeit, as are all other communion services outside the Kingdom today. Kingdom centers in practice offer the communion to baptized members only, that is, members who have been baptized by immersion by a Kingdom minister or pastor with the "restored baptism". It is a closed communion, and has been practiced that way since September of 1901. Historically, Kingdom members who have transgressed an edict or standard in some way during the month, are considered to be "out of fellowship" with the rest of the congregation, and therefore are not eligible to partake of the sacrement. This exclusion is generally left up to the conscience of the member concerned, but should the perpetrator of the offense have committed such an act in public or should others be aware of the transgression, then it is likely that individual would be asked by a minister or leader not to participate until they had "gotten right with God". A Kingdom Communion service is characterized by a relatively short sermon, the blessing and breaking of the unleavened loaf, and distribution of same by the deacons. This, incidentally, is the only task clearly defined as a deacon's responsibilty within the fellowship. Once that part of the service is complete, the wine (non-alcoholic grape juice) is also blessed and distributed to the congregation. For many years it was done so from a single shared cup, but this practice however was altered for most congregations in the 1980's with the advent of HIV. After the distribution of the bread and wine has been initiated, the membership is generally expected to rise one at a time where they sit and testify to their faith extemporaniously. This personal testimony may include some personal vignette or experience that occured during the interim since they last participated, or perhaps a recitation from scripture. One of the more common testimonies young members are conditioned to recite for their personal testimony include the words "... and I believe that this Lord's supper has the strength and power to carry me down through this next month...". In effect, this litany underscores the logic of the bread and wine now being the body and blood of Christ within the believer. All present are encouraged to participate, so much so that guilt is readily available for those who decline the offer. As the service concludes, the minister or pastor announces the close of the service with a prayer or congregational song of thanksgiving. |