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    • CommentAuthoradmin
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2009
     
    What is all this Presbyterian lingo?

    By P. J. Southam (Found at http://www.pcusa.org/today/archive/believe/speak.htm)


    Communion table or Lord's Table
    This is the table at the front of the sanctuary that holds the bread and the wine for Communion. Sometimes other items are placed on this table, such as the Bible, a cross, or candles.

    The reason this is called a Lord's Table rather than an altar is that on the night in which he was betrayed, when Jesus was eating the Passover meal with his disciples, they were sitting at a table (Luke 22:14).

    An altar is a place for making sacrifices. In the Reformed tradition we believe that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was sufficient once for all. This sacrifice does not have to be repeated with a Mass or other Communion on an altar.

    Lord's Supper
    This is the meal we share from the Lord's Table. Some churches call this meal Communion, or the Eucharist.

    Eucharist is from the Greek word for "thanksgiving," which is what Jesus did before he gave the bread and wine to his disciples.

    Manse
    This is a house owned by a congregation that they let the minister live in. In some denominations this is called the "parsonage." The word manse comes from the Latin word mansio which means "dwelling."

    Session
    This is the group of people, elected by the congregation, who make the decisions for the running of the local church. In some churches this group is called the "church council."

    Elders
    The session is composed of elders. This doesn't have to do with age so much as those who are considered competent and wise enough to make good decisions. There are two kinds of elders, "ruling elders" and "teaching elders." The ruling elders come from the congregation and are elected to serve in three-year cycles. The teaching elder is the pastor. This person is called a teaching elder because they have to go to a lot of school to get the education to preach and teach proper doctrine.

    The pastor is often also called the minister, or a "minister of the Word and Sacrament."

    Presbytery
    The presbytery is made up of a group of churches usually in a certain geographical area.

    The presbytery meeting includes "presbyters," both ruling and teaching elders, who gather to make decisions affecting the presbytery. By having their representatives gather together as a group congregations both support each other and are held accountable to each other.



    ... read more online at http://www.pcusa.org/today/archive/believe/speak.htm