On November 1, 1936 World-Wide Communion Sunday was born. Sources differ slightly on the start of this day when Christians around the world first united in observance. One source says that a group of pastors got together to study the spiritual needs of the church during the Great Depression. It was thought that the Lord’s Supper provided a great opportunity to unite Christians. Another source says that in 1933 Hugh T. Kerr, a Pittsburgh pastor, contacted leaders in various denominations with the idea of celebrating communion on the same day.
No matter the exact date, more than eighty years ago, World-Wide Communion Sunday came into being. The observance was moved to the first Sunday in October, where it has remained. The word “wide” was dropped leaving us with World Communion Sunday.
The words of one popular hymn reminds us that Christians around the world are one in Christ:
In Christ there is no east and west,
In Him no south or north;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.
Join hands and have faith
Whatever your race may be!
Who serves my Father as a son
Is surely kin to me.
People from around the world come together this October to answer the call “Do this in remembrance of me.”