Affirmation
Generally, churches that offer open communion to other Christians do not require an explicit affirmation of Christianity from the communicant before distributing the elements; the act of receiving is an implicit affirmation. Some churches make an announcement before communion begins such as "We invite all who have professed a faith in Christ to join us at the table."
Open communion is generally practiced in churches where the elements are passed through the congregation (also called self-communication). However, it is also practiced in some churches that have a communion procession, where the congregation comes forward to receive communion in front of the altar; such is the case in the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, most Anglican churches, some Lutheran churches.
Read more about this topic: Open Communion
Famous quotes containing the word affirmation:
“The mysteries of faith are degraded if they are made into an object of affirmation and negation, when in reality they should be an object of contemplation.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“I would say that deconstruction is affirmation rather than questioning, in a sense which is not positive: I would distinguish between the positive, or positions, and affirmations. I think that deconstruction is affirmative rather than questioning: this affirmation goes through some radical questioning, but it is not questioning in the field of analysis.”
—Jacques Derrida (b. 1930)
“Materialism means simply the denial that the moral order is eternal, and the cutting off of ultimate hopes; spiritualism means the affirmation of an eternal moral order and the letting loose of hope.”
—William James (1842–1910)