INTERNATIONAL DAYPOP CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

World Communion Sunday

World Communion Sunday gathers Christians around the world at one table of faith, sharing the bread and the cup as a witness to the unity of the Church.

OCT4

Sunday, October 4First Sunday in October

days to go

Roots: Began in 1933 when Rev. Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh called for a worldwide Communion Sunday
Also on Oct 4: World Animal Day · 10-4 Day · Cinnamon Bun Day
Hashtag: #WorldCommunionSunday

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3 ways to celebrate

AT HOME

Prepare Your Heart

Read a passage about the Lord's Supper and reflect quietly before the service, so you arrive ready to receive.

WITH FRIENDS

Invite Someone to Worship

Ask a friend or neighbor to join you for the Communion service, and share a meal together afterward.

AT WORK OR SCHOOL

Offer a Quiet Prayer

Pause during the day to pray for the worldwide church and for peace among all people of faith.

Fast facts

Observed on the first Sunday of October by Protestant churches around the world

1940Promoted worldwide since 1940 by the Federal Council of Churches, now the National Council of Churches

The story

In 1933, the Rev. Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr, pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, asked Christians of every denomination to celebrate the Lord's Supper on the same Sunday. His hope was simple and profound: that the shared bread and cup would knit divided believers into one body.

Read the full story

The idea grew slowly at first. In 1936 the Presbyterian Church in the United States adopted it as a denominational practice, and in 1940 the Federal Council of Churches, now the National Council of Churches, endorsed it and promoted it to churches across the globe. What began in one Pittsburgh congregation had become an observance for the whole Christian family.

Today, on the first Sunday of October, congregations of many traditions partake in Communion side by side, separated by language, culture, and distance, yet joined at a common table. It is a quiet, sacred reminder that the Church is one, and that the invitation to the table is open to all.