Most of us who are life-long Lutherans received communion for the first time when we were confirmed in the eighth grade. I never questioned the timing of confirmation or first communion. It was just something that took place when members of our church were in the eighth grade. In a way, I thought of confirmation and first communion as a Lutheran rite of passage before going to high school. As far as I knew, it had always been that way since the days of Jesus . . . or at least Martin Luther.
Actually, confirmation and first communion in the eighth grade goes back to the days when eighth grade was for many the last year of formal education. Since most people finished school in the eighth grade (and joined the work force), it made sense that confirmation would take place at this time in a person’s life. Whether eighth grade is still the best time for the rite of confirmation is a topic for another time.
What about the age at which a person can receive the Lord’s Supper? For many Lutherans the timing of receiving communion has been inseparably tied to eighth-grade confirmation for as long as any of us can remember. However, there is plenty of historical evidence that Christians were admitted to the Lord’s Table at a much earlier age . . . even among Luther and his fellow reformers.
For example, in a sermon preached on March 25, 1529 (about the same time that his Catechisms were being published), Martin Luther encouraged children to be prepared to receive communion:
“This exhortation ought not only to move us older ones, but also the young and the children. Therefore you parents ought to instruct and educate them in the doctrine of the Lord: the Decalog, the Creed, the Prayer, and the Sacraments. Such children ought also to be admitted to the Table that they may be partakers” [of the Lord’s Supper] (F. Bente, Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, electronic ed. (Concordia Publishing House, 1921), 82).
Also, in the preface to the 1538 of the Danish edition of the the Enchridion, the reformer Johnannes Bugenhagen wrote,
“that after this confession is made, also the little children of about eight years or less should be admitted to the table of Him who says: ‘Suffer the little children to come unto Me,’ ” (F. Bente, Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, electronic ed. (Concordia Publishing House, 1921), 82.)
Here at Trinity Lutheran Church, since at least 2008 we have been preparing youth in the fifth and sixth grades for the reception of the Lord’s Supper. This “Early Communion – Prior to Confirmation” course is offered for four weeks during Lent of each year. For a youth to participate in the class he or she must
- Attend four classes/sessions with a parent and/or other adult.
- Attend worship services while taking the course.
- Complete all of the homework that is part of the class.
Upon completing the course, the young person and parents sign a pledge that he or she will attend and complete confirmation classes. If they do not enroll in confirmation classes upon entering the seventh grade they will loose the privilege to receive communion until they enroll in confirmation.
Early Communion Prior to Confirmation begins again on Saturday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m. Those who complete the course this year will receive first communion during the Maundy Thursday service on April 13. If you are interested in attending and have not yet enrolled in the class, please contact the church office by Thursday, March 2.
