1st Open communion within Anglicanism & 2nd...
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PloverWing
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- May 5, 2012
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The practice I've seen in the Episcopal church in the US is children receiving Communion as soon as they're old enough to manage the physical act of eating a wafer -- so toddlers at age 1 or 2 or so. Children are considered members of the church at their baptism, which most often happens in infancy.
Theologically, we'd be okay with the Orthodox practice of using a spoon to give Communion to infants, but I haven't seen it done in practice.
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- Nov 26, 2019
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Indeed, I don’t know what kind of conditions those would be; in the US however I have never heard of a prohibition on religious initiation as part of a fostering agreement, and I am reasonably certain that as long as the child desired baptism and was not the victim of any kind of abuse (psychological, physical, or God forbid, indecent assault, as happened in Germany to foster children in the 1960s through 2000s on a massive scale), it would not be an issue, because of the extreme power of the First Amendment (which is not all good; for example, there are no laws and can be no laws prohibiting holocaust denial).
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- Apr 25, 2016
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Fostering arrangements are very tightly controlled here. I have seen this up closer than I would like, as my own parents foster three of my brother's children. For example, my parents have no power to change the school the children go to, to make various decisions on their behalf without recourse to the department of human services, and so on. They are in fact not allowed to bring the children to visit me without special permission, because I live just across a state border. Last time we met they drove most of the way, and I crossed the border to share a meal with them.
Since something like baptism would be considered a very significant life decision, in general foster parents would be discouraged/disallowed from making it without the consent of parents and/or the department which has oversight of the foster placement.
Since something like baptism would be considered a very significant life decision, in general foster parents would be discouraged/disallowed from making it without the consent of parents and/or the department which has oversight of the foster placement.
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Thatgirloncfforums
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- Apr 25, 2016
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To be honest, I'm not sure. I would guess a combination of managing the risk of abuse, but also wanting to allow children to maintain their own identity, family traditions and culture. I would guess that the stolen generations phenomenon is a big part of the background as to why things are now the way they are.
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Arcangl86
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In the Episcopal Church paedocommunion is allowed. I think it's a fairly new thing though, only allowed since the 80s, which is also when the requirement to be confirmed before taking on church leadership was dropped. (the only exception is ordination). Practice wise though, it's going to vastly depend. I've seen both paedocommunion and waiting until a certain age, though IME that tends to happen more in communities of color and immigrant communities.
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- Jul 22, 2011
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The above matches my experience and opinion of TEC as well. I encourage parents to at least consider having their infants receive Communion on the day of their baptism but I have yet to have any accept.
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- Jul 22, 2011
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You're in TEC, correct? I don't believe the national canons specify the qualifications for Vestry and other leadership positions. My diocese simply requires that they be communicants in good standing.
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Yes, I'm TEC. I am fairly certain the pledging requirement for Vestry members is strictly Rector-driven. I am unsure who is making the call about confirmation for leadership positions.
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The BCP reflects the position of Confessional Lutheranism; that being said, in our parish, it is up to Pastor's discretion, on a case by case basis. Pastor will bless, but not commune anyone who approaches the altar who he has not spoken too prior to service or who he does not know. While we have a statement regarding our communion practice, when it is denied, he makes a point of speaking to the person(s) following the service (we get new members as a result sometimes).
The ACC Priest is in error IMO, but I have heard of Anglican Parishes here in Ontario doing the same, but rather than ACC parishes, it is a handful of pietist, legalistic low-Church parishes, and they restrict it to members of their parish only. The lack of universal practice within a Church body can be baffling.
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In this day and age; human rights.
Before we were confirmed, we were instructed in a simple form of "emergency" baptism; today, while first aid is covered under the good samaritan act; you baptise someone with good intentions who did not want it, you are in the deepest of social justice do-do.
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- Apr 25, 2016
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Well, to be fair, if we believe baptism is actually effective (ie. does something to the person receiving it) then imposing it on others against their will is a pretty awful thing to do. It does get tricky when we're talking about people young enough that their parents/guardians make decisions for them.
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