First Communion in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

Historically speaking, one was received into the Christian community after publicly professing one's faith in Christ Jesus. After this profession, the believer was baptized and would subsequently participate in all community activities. The most significant activity of these was the meal we now call Holy Communion.

However, as these new believers began having children, the practice of receiving members into the early church was changed to accommodate the entire family. In order to include the child in community, as well as give that child the opportunity to grow in the faith, child baptism came into being. This child would then be included in all community activities, with the understanding that this young person would one day publicly profess her or his own faith in Christ. Until that day, it was understood that the community of the faithful, the church, would be responsible for the education and well-being of the child's faith life.

As the early Catholic church began to more eloquently and philosophically record and standardize their theology, the increasingly popular belief in original sin was deemed theologically true. Because one was now understood to be conceived and born into sin, infant baptism became a priority. Additionally, because Christianity became the religion of the empire, all persons were baptized in compliance with civil law. As the practice of feeding so many infants bread and wine was neither possible nor practical, the determination of when to include children in the sacrament of Holy Communion has been in flux to this day.

In reading the gospels and hearing Jesus' words about children, we know he never wished to have children excluded from fellowship with him. Our Lutheran theology affirms that there are no prerequisites for the reception of the sacraments, including one's age or faith. In the sacraments, God comes to the recipient to provide the one being baptized or communed the benefits of forgiveness, life, salvation and faith through God's grace in the sacraments.  The sacraments are events of the whole church. The body of the Lord is the church, all the baptized, adults and children. Holy Communion is the meal for all the baptized.

First Communion at Faith Lutheran Church in Little Rock, Arkansas

At Faith Lutheran, we feel that the decision about what age a child should make her/his first communion lies with the pastor and the parents of the child. We believe that parents serve as the chief teachers, role models and those who nurture the faith in their children. This journey begins at birth and grows out of baptism. This congregation partners with parents and supports their roles as nurturers of their children's faith.

The graph below shows the distribution, by school year, of youngsters making their First Communion in ELCA congregations as of 2004.

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