History of Individual Communion Cups - Recent

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Pergamum

Ordinary Guy (TM)
Who First Adopted Individual Cups as a Regular Communion Practice? | SharperIron

An interesting article. Anyone else has info?

On Sunday morning October 7, 1894, parishioners filled the Bedford Avenue Baptist Church of Brooklyn, New York, in anticipation of experiencing what The New York Times termed a “novelty in communion service” (October 8, 1894). Two newspapers had announced in late September that this church would implement individual cups. The September 28, 1894 issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle quoted Bedford’s pastor, J. H. Gunning, as saying that the cups would be used at the next communion service. However, attendees who arrived expecting the individual cups “were disappointed” to see the same old six silver goblets (The New York Times, October 8, 1894). After the service, Rev. Gunning called a business meeting during which he said he was anxious that his church be the first in Brooklyn to use individual communion cups. A majority voted, by standing, to purchase 200 three-inch tall silver cups lined with gold at a cost of thirty-five cents per communicant.
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Andres said:
This is ammo for my common-cup position! :up: ;)
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ye holding the Regulative Principle as we do would mean we follow the scriptures and use a Common Cup,
for those new to this Forum The Regulative Principle in Worship is just a fancy word for the Reformation
Slogan Scripture Alone as it is applies to Public Worship.
 
Was there any outcry or reaction at that time? Do we have sermon series or tractates against such a practice from this same time period?
 
A group of congregations in Namibia, who have contact with the Protestant Reformed Churches, holds the use of the common cup as a distinctive. This group of congregations have a lengthy testimony setting forth their case for the common cup in the Afrikaans language which has yet to be translated into English.
 
Interesting. As I was going through the old RPCNA minutes I came across a discussion of this very issue. Somewhere in the 1890s if I remember correctly. There were people who said that having a common cup was the Scriptural view, and others who said it was unnecessary and unsanitary.

The first group was criticizing the second for abandoning Scripture on "sanitation" grounds. Synod basically came down and said Scripture doesn't indicate and left it up to the congregations to decide.

But apparently it was quite a heated issue. It's surprising, coming from this side of the disagreement!
 
I was just surprised at how recent this change was. We think our church practices have such a long history behind them.
 
My late Father told that at the end of World War II, he was involved in diverting some coal to the Baptists [Baptists in the English tradition, not anabaptists] in Frankfurt am Main, so that they could heat one congregation and warm its baptistery sufficiently that they could conduct baptisms. [the Nazis had prohibited them from baptizing publicly for several years] My Father attended the service. After the baptisms a service of Holy Communion was celebrated. My Father was surprised because they passed a common cup. When Father told my Grandfather about this novelty he was told that the common cup had been the standard practice among Baptists and Presbyterians where he lived until the influenza epidemic during World War I.
 
I don't have a strong conviction on the matter, but find the common cup method to have richer symbolism and prefer it on that ground.
 
I don't have a Scriptural basis for it, but I hope the individual cup continues to be practiced at my church for sanitary reasons.
 
Sanitary reasons are quite ridiculous in my opinion. Use wine and silver, and you'll be fine.

But whereas 'one bread' has more clear symbolism in Scripture (1 Cor. 10) for the one church, 'one cup' is really nowhere found. Closest you will come is "the cup". But I am not for or against common cup (hence the first paragraph), since Christ said divide it amongst yourselves I have not found very many convincing arguments as to why it has to be common cup. What is the symbolism of the common cup found in Scripture or where does Scripture show the symbolism of the common cup? Curious question. Thanks.
 
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