From music to bread recipes, UCC global partners bring the world to World Communion Sunday resources

United Church of Christ congregations are heading into the Oct. 5 celebration of World Communion Sunday (click here for worship resources), with a sense of urgency. After all, if ever there was a time to reaffirm the oneness in Christ with its siblings near and far, it is now.

“World Communion Sunday powerfully reminds us of what is always true when we participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion: at Christ’s table we are all one. In a nation and world afflicted with so much conflict, hatred and division, we need this blessed reminder,” said Rev. Shari Prestemon, Associate General Minister for the United Church of Christ and Co-Executive of Global Ministries, a shared witness between the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the UCC. “We are also compelled to demonstrate a commitment to building unity and peace in our lives every day,” she added.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism

World Communion Sunday, held the first Sunday in October, was the idea of Rev. Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr. In 1933, the Presbyterian minister wanted to lift the biblical reality that through baptism, congregations worldwide were connected to one another. Kerr often cited Ephesians’ “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

In 1940, against the backdrop of World War II, when division and discourse were ripping apart the seam of unity, the Department of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches — the predecessor of today’s National Council of Churches — embraced World Communion Sunday. It was soon adopted by many denominations, including the UCC.

Today, though, unity is once again being pulled at the seams as political dissension grows, and U.S. government funding cuts threaten global aid programs.

“In a time when more boundaries are set up — physical and psychological — World Communion Sunday is a time to celebrate the ways the Church is enabling the breaking down of the dividing walls,” said Dr. Peter E. Makari, Global Relations Minister, Middle East and Europe  for Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ.

Scripture on unity anchors resources

From liturgy to music to children’s sermon illustrations, Global Ministries has created a plethora of World Communion resources for 2025 highlighting the many ways in which the UCC and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are strengthening the tie that binds God’s children together.

As Makari points out, “we are all connected in many ways.”

The resources are anchored in the following Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, where Paul talks about the Church as one body with many parts; Psalm 133:1, celebrating the goodness of God’s children living in harmony; and John 17:21-23, where Jesus prays that all believers may be one.

Music and bread recipes from around the world

Nowhere better is unity illustrated than at the table where the common cup and one loaf is shared. Celebrating the diversity of that one loaf, Global Ministries reached out to its global partners inviting them to share the bread of their culture. “Breads from Around the World” features 14 recipes for congregations to make and share at the celebration of Communion. Among the recipes are Swahili buns from Kenya, Caribbean banana bread and “diaphaphata,” which are stove top muffins popular in Botswana.

Global Ministries also offers videos to share with congregations, including two reflections on the meaning of communion as well as a recorded benediction from the Church of Scotland.

Music videos from global partners representing the Pacific Theological College in Fiji, Silliman University in the Philippines, The Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in Armenia, and The Church of Christ in Congo, are also included to enrich World Communion Sunday worship services.  

World Communion Sunday 2025 has not forgotten the importance of including children in the celebration. Global Ministries offers “Learning About God’s Family” children’s moments, object lessons and kid-appropriate prayers that help connect young disciples to the wider Church.

While the resources have been created for World Communion Sunday, they have a much longer shelf life beyond Oct. 5. “The ways we engage with each other regularly, through partnership, is not only on one Sunday a year,” said Makari.

As the Rev. Taisaku Obata, minister of the Ube Church, United Church of Christ in Japan, writes in the World Community Sunday call to worship liturgy (available here), “In a world that remains divided and in conflict, God is inviting us, to make us one.”

It is an invitation issued to the Church every day of the year.

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