The Eucharist, also known as the Mass or Holy Communion, is the central act of Christian worship. It is the ceremony, or sacrament, commemorating the supper that Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion, at which he gave his disciples bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you", and he called on them to "do this in memory of me”. He then took a cup of wine and said, "This is the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many" (Luke 22).
The word Eucharist comes from the Greek eucharistia, or thanksgiving. It refers both to the ceremony at which the congregation receives the consecrated bread and wine, and to the consecrated sacramental bread and wine (also referred to as the Eucharistic species or the Blessed Sacrament).
As Anglo-Catholics, we at Saint Barnabas affirm the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, meaning that Jesus Christ is present in the consecrated bread and wine. The bread and wine are not merely symbolic of the body and blood of Christ but are that body and blood in a true and substantial way.
This sacrament, then, is the principal means by which we receive the love and grace of Christ. After the Eucharistic Prayer and the Breaking of the Bread, the people come forward to the altar rail to receive Communion under both kinds (that is, the consecrated bread and wine). The bread, in the form of wafers, is administered by clergy into the cupped hands of the communicant kneeling or standing at the altar rail. The chalice is then administered by the clergy or by licensed laypersons. Those who do not wish to drink from the chalice may receive Communion under only one kind. Intinction, or the practice of dipping the bread into the wine, is not practiced at Saint Barnabas.
Visitors who are baptized Christians, who repent of their sins and have faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament are welcome to receive Holy Communion with us. Anyone is welcome to come forward to receive a blessing; you may cross your arms over your chest to indicate that you want to receive a blessing rather than Communion.