Sacraments
Baptism:
Baptism is a joyous celebration in which we become a child of God and a member of the Christian Church. It is meant to be shared by family, friends, and the faith community. For this reason, Baptism normally takes place during a regular worship service. This enables the members of the Christian community, to which you or your child is entering, to witness the event and offer their prayers, love, and support.
In the Lutheran Church, baptism is a sacrament: a special act commanded by Christ, given with a physical element, and a means by which God gives us grace, acceptance, and forgiveness. Baptism is a gift and is the starting point of the Christian life. At Baptism, we are called by name into God’s family. The Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word and the water, claims us as a child of God, and we are marked with the cross of Christ forever. Through God’s grace, we are named as an inheritor of all the good gifts the loving Creator has to give. It is a visible sign of God’s invisible gift of acceptance, forgiveness, adoption, and love. It is the beginning of a life lived in relationship with God through Christ. Within this caring community, the baptized child of God will have a chance to develop and mature, becoming all that God intends him or her to be.
When choosing sponsors for your child, it is important to first look at your family and friends who are worshiping, active Christians. When asking a person or couple to sponsor your child, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts about the commitment involved in baptismal sponsorship. Ask them if they would be able to make this commitment to your child:
- To pray for this child regularly;
- To remember this child’s baptismal anniversary and birthday every year with a card or letter;
- To be a model of love, care, and Christ-like kindness;
- To encourage the parents and the child to grow in the Christian faith, read the Bible, receive the sacraments, and to worship and participate in education classes regularly.
If you want to be baptized or arrange for baptism for your child, please speak to the Pastor (610-446-6398).
Holy Communion:
Holy Communion is celebrated weekly at Trinity. All who have confessed Jesus as Lord are welcome to receive the Sacrament of the Altar.
According to Martin Luther’s definition, a sacrament is that which is
- commanded by Christ;
- a promise of grace; and,
- accompanied by an earthly element.
Lutherans have two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion.
Sacraments are God’s way of using the “ordinary” to deliver something extraordinary. While it is true that God speaks in various ways, the sacraments provide us with a tangible and real way in which one can know he/she has been forgiven and, especially in the case of communion, can literally “internalize” God’s Word.
It is the Lord who invites us to come and eat.
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
We believe, teach, and confess the doctrine of “Real Presence.” That is, in the Lord’s Supper, we confess that in, with, and under the bread and the wine, we receive the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ given for the forgiveness of our sins.
If for some reason you or your child is worshipping with us and desires not to receive communion, please know that you and your child are welcome to come forward to receive a blessing during the distribution of Holy Communion.
Children are usually instructed prior to receiving their first Holy Communion in the third grade; however, children who have already received Holy Communion in a tradition other than the Lutheran Church are permitted to receive as well. Young children who have not yet been instructed are encouraged to come to the altar for a blessing when their parents receive. Trinity Lutheran Church does not withhold this sacrament from individuals because of divorce or remarriage.
On most Sundays, we will receive Holy Communion by Intinction. Intinction is when you receive the bread (wafer) and you dip it into either the wine or the grape juice.
Because of medical reasons, we always have gluten-free wafers and grape juice available for those who worship with us.
If the worshipper has difficulty in coming forward to receive the sacrament and would like the Pastor to bring communion to the pew, please inform an usher. If you desire to remain in your pew to receive communion, we encourage you to sit on the pulpit side of the church along the side aisle.