Fed and Forgiven Workshop 

If you are interesting in the Fed and Forgiven Workshop to receive communion for the first time or to deepen you understand.

Fed and forgiven is a comprehensive set of resources for preparing children, youth, and adults for regular participation in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Here you will find age appropriate flexible resources for teaching and learning about the gifts of grace, and support for ongoing sacramental formation.

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​At the table of our Lord Jesus Christ, God nourishes faith, forgives sin, and calls us to be witness to the Gospel.   Fed and forgiven will help people of all ages deepen their understanding of and love for the gift of Holy Communion. Whether you are leaving children, youth, or adults who are preparing to receive the sacrament for the first time, or helping people of any age to defend their encounters with the with this gift.

If you are the parent or caregiver for a young child you may be wondering if he or she is ready to be receiving communion. Some of us have been raised to believe that participation in holy communion requires a bit more than a generous splash of baptism. We may have received first communion right after we were confirmed and so I understood it as something as a reward for making it through those years of classes. Or, tradition may have been given the impression that holy communion was a privilege enjoyed by those mature enough to understand and appreciate it.

Consider these two statements from the use of the means of grace

• Admission to the sacrament is by invitation of the Lord, presented through the church to those who are baptized.
• There is no command from our Lord regarding the age in which people should be baptized or First Communion... In all communion practices, congregations strive to avoid both reducing the Lord's Supper to enact effective by its in your performance without faith and narrowing face to intellectual understanding of Christ's presence and gifts.

Your child's reading this is best determined by you, a parent or caregiver, in consultation with your pastor and, perhaps, a children's ministry staff person. each child is different, and it will pick up on the significance of the meal at a different point. One important cue for writing this is your child showing signs of feeling excluded. Use questions like these to help understand if your child sense of belonging in the faith community, so that you can make a decision about readiness.

• Has your child been baptized?
• Is your child comfortable in various locations around the church, including the altar?
• Will your child extend his or her hands when asked to do so?
• Does your child recognize the pastor and seeming able to interact enough with him or her to receive the elements?
• Is your child aware enough of others in the congregation and their needs to show a degree of respect for their communion experience?
• Are you prepared to help make the process positive?

Only the first question requires a yes before your child can be considered ready. Use the others to generate discussion and to plan, with your pastor, for your child's preparation to begin receiving the sacrament and the gifts it brings blessings to you on this journey!