WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS?

You may remember as a member of the Pastoral Care Team in our Church, I was asked if I would be happy to share Communion with some of our members who are at present in Care Homes.  I said I would be delighted, so in late October, I visited three of our members, and had a wonderful time, not only sharing Communion with them, but also chatting to them and praying with them.  What a blessing!

I was aware, though, that taking the Communion elements in a makeshift plastic box was not that reverent, so I asked one of the members at Church the next week if he knew of a small and portable Communion set that I could use.  Pete said that he thought he had seen one somewhere, so would investigate.

When I was at the Community Fridge yesterday, he brought this out to show me.  You might think at first that it is a small sewing machine - see the top left photograph - but on opening this 12” x 9” box at the sides, and lifting off the lid, I could see the small, silver-coloured salver for the bread, complete with six holes for glasses and a small bottle.  I say silver-coloured, because there is no mark on the salver and it was in rather a poor condition.  However, I have washed it carefully in soapy water, being careful not to scratch it and the initials GHBC can be seen so it was obviously made specially for Gorse Hill Baptist Church - see bottom right photograph.

Pete found me six glasses - to go in the box - in fact, the plastic ones that were used during Covid would not fit into these small holes, so all that is needed now is the bread and wine to go in the bottle and I am ready for the next time I go out to share Communion with our older members.

It’s rather tricky to get the top on the box and Pete told me that the easiest way was to put it on one end, being careful not to tip the bottle, and then push in the little “pusher” at the other end and get that in too.  I know that doesn’t sound very technical, but then, I am a woman!

This Communion Set looks hand-made and is beautifully crafted, with material carefully attached inside the lid so that when the top is put on the actual box which holds the salver, glasses and wine, it doesn’t get scratched.  

I was interested to know how much this weighed, so I have just weighed the whole thing and it weighs 3.22 kg or if you, like me, do pounds and ounces, it is 7lbs 1oz - so although it is obviously a “portable” Communion Set, it is quite heavy!

I would love to know the provenance of this beautifully created piece of history of our Church and will be putting this on our Facebook page to see if anyone knows anything about this Communion Set.  

“For every time you eat this bread 
     and drink this cup, 
          you are [symbolically] proclaiming 
               [the fact of] the Lord’s death 
                    until He comes [again].”
1 Corinthians 11:26 : Amplified Version

P.S.  I apologise for not commenting last night, but I was so tired after my volunteering stint at the Community Fridge that I had an early night!