World Communion Sunday is a celebration observed by several Christian denominations, taking place on the first Sunday of every October, that promotes Christian unity and ecumenical cooperation.World Communion Sunday

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...

website, accessed 15 August 2011. It focuses on an observance of the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. The tradition was begun in 1933 by Hugh Thomson Kerr who ministered in the

Shadyside Presbyterian Church Shadyside Presbyterian Church is a large congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in an historic part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the corner of Amberson Avenue and Westminster Place in the Shadyside neighbor ...

. According to ''Presbyterian Outlook'': It was then adopted throughout the US Presbyterian Church in 1936 and subsequently spread to other denominations. In 1940, the

Federal Council of Churches The Federal Council of Churches, officially the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, was an ecumenical association of Christian denominations in the United States in the early twentieth century. It represented the Anglican, Baptist, Ea ...

(now the

), led by

Jesse Moren Bader Jesse Moren Bader (1886–1963) was a 20th-century evangelist, ecumenist and global leader. He was a significant and visionary leader during the twentieth century, not only within his own communion, helping establish the World Convention of Churc ...

, endorsed World Communion Sunday and began to promote it to Christian churches worldwide.

References

Christian ecumenism Christian Sunday observances Eucharist Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) October observances {{Christianity-stub

See also

References