by Chrystal Mahan

Created on: January 07, 2011   Last Updated: January 08, 2011

I just got this book yesterday and was anxious to get started on it. Textbooks are about to take over my life so my books' review time is going to slow down just a little bit. I picked up this little gem through a blog-reading review program. I picked it myself; they did not force it on me. They have plenty of other books to choose from. I get no money, just the eBook.

At first I thought I had made the wrong choice. When you first begin to read you start with a Forward written by the General Editor, Phyllis Tickle. While I am all for editors making an appearance in their client's books, I was a little rattled by this one.

I picked this book because I wanted to learn more about Communion and The Sacred Meal. I did not grow up in a religious household, but my mother’s family was Catholic and that is how she was raised. My knowledge of the bible is limited. I picked it up over the years from friends and family, or I picked it up on those days I went to church.

I should have skipped this section and gone right on to chapter 1. I am not a history fan and I am not one who can sit and read historical books, fiction or non. This Forward made me want to run. While I realize any subject with Jesus, the Bible and Religion are all going to take a historical turn I believe there is a way to go about doing it without making it sound like an encyclopedia or a textbook.

I did a speed read and went into the Introduction. I was rather amused that the author was not willing to do this book at first. After much thought and careful consideration, as well as her own quest for knowledge on the practice of Communion she accepted.

The book has three parts; waiting, receiving and afterward. There is a brief bit of history about Communion and the various views on it.

I had to giggle when I got to chapter 1, its title was “scotch tape and baling wire.” I thought it was a little odd, but I read on.  The chapter starts on a sad note of a friend’s daughter who had gone missing. Having that news in her mind, and then asked to do the days Communion made Nora question herself. As people passed through the Communion line one by one, her nerves starting to fade, things started to click as she went through the process in her mind.

I was so eager to read more; I ended up staying up the entire night reading the book. (it was only 115 pages!)

Nora speaks about her experiences with Communion and goes in to great detail on her thoughts. She tells you a story that is autobiographical and historical with a bit of humor thrown in, but she tells it in a way that the everyday common person can relate to.

Book Description

The sacred meal that is part of our faith does more than connect us to the holy, it connects us to each other.

"I think Jesus wanted his disciples and everyone who came after him to remember what they had together. What they made together. What it meant to be together. How the things he did could not have been done without them."

In her inimitable style of memoir and personal reflection, Nora Gallagher explores the beauty and mystery of this most fascinating of topics. Whether exploring the history of Christian communion, taking us inside the workings of a soup kitchen, or sharing times of joy and sadness with friends, she reminds us what it means to partake of, and be part of, the body of Christ.

A volume in the eight book classic series, The Ancient Practices, with a foreword by Phyllis Tickle, General Editor.

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