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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (September 28, 2009) — Many area churches will join other church groups gathering all over the U.S. and around the world for a special Great Communion service on Sunday, Oct. 4.
The Great Communion service, to be held in Milligan College’s Seeger Memorial Chapel at 4 p.m., will draw participants from Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.
“The service at Milligan will be primarily a worship service focused on the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, with the idea that we find unity in Christ at the Lord’s table,” said Dr. Patricia Magness, a Milligan professor and member of the Great Communion Task Force. “Anyone who wants to be a part of celebrating Christian unity, regardless of church background, is invited to attend.”
The Great Communion is part of a worldwide celebration to commemorate the bicentennial of Thomas Campbell’s “Declaration and Address” and to promote unity among the three streams of churches in the Stone-Campbell movement: Christian Churches, Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ.
Similar gatherings will be held across the globe on Oct. 4.
“The original planners decided it would be better to have multiple local events all over the world instead of one, so that unity could be felt among the local gatherings,” Magness said. “They also made it a 21st century event by developing a Web site (www.greatcommunion.org) so that ideas could be shared there.”
The service at Milligan is being planned by an independent planning team of local church leaders, educators and Christian friends. The planning team is led by Tim Wallingford of First Christian Church in Johnson City, Tenn.
Dr. Gary Holloway of Lipscomb University will present the message. The service will also include a communion meditation delivered by Drs. Lee and Patricia Magness, of Milligan College, and worship led by Dr. Ted Thomas of Milligan College.
For more information about the Great Communion gathering, contact Brent Nipper, associate director of church relations at Milligan College, at wbnipper@milligan.edu.