Restoration Movement Communion: Great Communion Invites Churches to Gather at the Lord’s Table
Victor Knowles highlights the historic roots of the Great Communion and invites Stone-Campbell churches around the world to participate. The article connects the 1909 Centennial Celebration in Pittsburgh with a worldwide Communion gathering planned for October 4, 2009.
- About 25,000 people gathered in Pittsburgh in 1909 for a Communion service commemorating Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address.
- The 2009 Great Communion invited Restoration Movement churches around the world to take the Lord’s Supper together.
- Churches were encouraged to use resources from GreatCommunion.org to plan local participation.
By Victor Knowles
About 25,000 people gathered at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1909, for a special Communion service commemorating the Centennial Celebration of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address. In that historic document Campbell called the Lord’s Supper “that great ordinance of unity and love.”
On October 4, 2009, thousands of people will be gathering together for a “Great Communion.” This time, however, it will not be limited to just one city (although a special service is being planned in Pittsburgh). All over the world members of the Restoration (or Stone-Campbell) Movement will be meeting to take the Lord’s Supper together.
The Great Communion in 2009
Discover how your church can participate in this significant and historic event by going to www.greatcommunion.org. The Web site offers simple steps to help “make it happen” in your community. Begin by talking with leaders in your church and then contact other Stone-Campbell churches in your community. Some are planning a Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening joint service on October 4.
Resources for Local Churches
Everything you need to get started (talking points, sample letters, downloadable logos) can be found at www.greatcommunion.org. In the words of Thomas Campbell, “Duty then is ours; but events belong to God. Up, and be doing, and the Lord will be with you.”
Victor Knowles is founder and president of POEM (Peace on Earth Ministries), Joplin, Missouri, www.poeministries.org.
Author: Victor Knowles
Victor Knowles is president of Peace On Earth Ministries, Joplin, Mo. This article is adapted from an address given to the Advanced Preaching class of St. Louis Christian College, Florissant, Mo., on Sept. 13, 2019, and to the Wabash Valley Christian Institute at New Hope Christian Church, Bridgeport, Ill., on Nov. 7, 2020.
