Closed communion?

[longdistancerunner]

Reading about primitive baptists I found many only practice closed communion. They do not allow people other than primitive baptists to be present for the communion ceremony. I wonder if any CoC's have had a similar policy, I have never seen people excluded from the ceremony or even told not to take communion if they were from another religion or not baptized.

And I wonder if anyone has heard about whether people can take communion when attending another denomination? Seems like the practice I have seen if visiting a relative's church is you do not participate in the communion service. But I have never heard about this in a sermon. My father would rarely attend another church service.

[B.H.]

I haven't heard of any CoC locally doing it. I think they will explain only CoC members should but will not throw someone not CoC out over it

I had a great aunt get disfellowshipped because she divorced her husband without biblical cause. She says she caught him and a girl working for them red handed. But the elders believed him. Anyway a few years before she and her second husband died they visited my church for Friends Day. Actually they came twice. No one who knew her said anything bad and they both took communion even though they were Methodists. I never said anything about what got her thrown out. I was way too young to ask her about it and it was not my business anyway. But before she died my grandfather who was still CoC tried to talk to her about it and she told him she told the truth and they did not believe her. She believed in God and knew she could not lie to him. My grandfather said he believed her

[zeek]

I've seen people get boiling mad because some "unsaved" visitor helped himself to the emblems as they were passed. CoC has always practiced open communion, as far as I know. The Roman Catholic church practices closed communion. Only Catholics in good standing are supposed to partake. I'm sure everyone remembers the flap that arose when some bishop barred Nancy Pelosi from communion due to her open support for abortion, which is anathema to the Catholic church. I thought her response was very apropos. She asked when they were going to start withholding communion from lawmakers who support the death penalty which the Catholic church also condemns.

[B.H.]

I think Nancy has a point. How dare the Pope think he is Foy Wallace and decides who can take communion or not?

[Shane R]

There was always some tension over a visitor receiving if they were not known to be CoC. I've rarely seen someone skipped over but I have seen it done. Had it done to me a couple of times too. After I left for 'the denominations' the handful of times I visited my grandparents' church I was treated like I wasn't there. My parents' church is a little more tolerant and they generally prepare an extra serving for me but I haven't taken it in years.

As to CoC people visiting other services, my mother will generally commune if she is by herself. But dad has never received communion at a church I serve, nor do my brother or mother if he is there being the patriarch of the clan. I took my brother to a Lutheran Christmas Eve service a couple of years ago and he enjoyed himself; there was no communion, it was just Lessons and Carols. He finds it objectionable that the communion is typically served at an altar rail in the churches I serve; his usual line: "While, I aint getting up. Why don't you bring it around like a normal church." My response is, "You have no idea what a normal church looks like."

[Ivy]

As I recall my childhood and earlier adult memories of cofc...communion was always "open". But that didn't mean
you wouldn't get a side eye from Sister So-and-so if they knew you were sinning and/or not a true cofc member. Since they didn't believe in transubstantiation, I guess they figured it wouldn't hurt anything.