World Communion Sunday reminds
us we all have common bond

By Ray Kiser
First UMC, McAllen
One of the striking realities of living in the Rio Grande Valley is that our local community is clearly international. Of course, simply being so close to the border makes us international, but the influx of multinational corporations, especially in the Reynosa area, has changed the Valley from a string of laid-back border towns to something that begins to feel like a modern global village with major urban development on the way.
World Communion Sunday was created to remind Christians of their common bond across denominations, cultures and boundaries around the world. We may use many different languages, different expressions of worship, but we feast together as brothers and sisters at the family table where Jesus breaks bread.
Our church represents some of the best of American Methodism in a community where Christians of many different styles and cultures live side by side. This week especially we are reminded to pray for other Christians in churches that are different from ours. We are reminded of our common mission to offer the gift and the hope of Christ among those for whom the love and grace of God are yet unknown.
In many churches I have served, the idea of being involved in ministry to “the world” seems distant, dreamy and grandiose. Here in McAllen, ministry to the world starts virtually at our doorstep: immediate, tangible and real.
Even here the starting places are challenging. Language and cultural issues can still be barriers. The realm of need stretches beyond our grasp. What we recognize is that this is the kind of place where Jesus sent his disciples, the kind of place where the Gospel first took root, the kind of place where the call of Jesus is more relevant today than ever before.
We gather at the Lord’s Table this week with our own collection of needs and hungers. We gather also to bring the needs of the world to Christ and seek help in being his witnesses to the world—including that part that is just next door and around the corner.