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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

Extending the Table

A Guide for a Ministry of Home Communion Serving

Mark Stamm • February 2009

BUY Print $13.00

"Who is missing?" Mark Stamm says this is a quesion the church should ask every time its members gather around the Lord's Table.

Participation in the Lord's Supper is not a ritual action we perform as isolated individuals, Stamm points out. Instead, we partake of the sacrament with the whole church in mind, even those who cannot attend.

In Extending the Table Stamm

  • discusses historical, theological, and pastoral questions about home Communion
  • demonstrates the central role Communion has played in Christian life
  • asserts that the church must seek ways to include its "unwillingly absent members" in the celebration of the Lord's Supper
  • offers practical suggestions for inclusion of all people in receiving the sacrament

This book is an excellent resource for clergy, laypersons, and scholars committed to deeper understanding and increased strengthening of the body of Christ.


Dr. Mark W. Stamm is the author of numerous articles and three previous books related to various aspects of sacramental theology. He has worked as a pastor in United Methodist congregations and currently serves on the faculty at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, as professor of Christian worship. His most recent book is Devoting Ourselves to the Prayers: A Baptismal Theology for the Church’s Intercessory Work (Discipleship Resources).

ISBN: 978-0-88177-553-2

Imprint: Discipleship Resources

Pub Date: February 2009

Trim Size: 6 in (w) x 9 in (h) x in (d)

Page Count: 144

BISAC Categories: RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Pastoral Resources

BISAC1: REL074000

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Extending the Table takes no leaps into/flights of summary like many books, but grounds every move in the primary sources so that the reader touches the history that brings us to a new day in sacramental understanding and practice. This is a book that pastors and congregations will use not only to strengthen pastoral care for those who are missing from the table, but to deepen the faith and life of those who are present at the regular celebrations of the Lord’s Supper. Take up and read!

Mark Stamm does the church a great service in this book. Ever the scholar AND pastor, he carefully sets the stage for the ministry of extending the Lord’s table and then provides the resources needed for congregations to care for “those who are missing.” Bishops, elders, deacons and all the baptized should immerse their understanding and practice in Extending the Table.

Extending the Table is both scholarly and inspirational. Here history, story, pastoral wisdom and pragmatic savvy meet to equip congregations to care for “those who are missing.”

Daniel Benedict, OSL Writer/Consultant in Worship and Liturgical Prayer StrongCenterOpenDoors http://www.strongcenteropendoors.com

While considering the practical application of the missional call to extend the table, Stamm invites us into the deep mystery that is communion....I look forward to using this book!

Robin Knowles Wallace Methodist Theological School in Ohio

Mark Stamm offers a rich feast of practical advice, theology, history, group reflections and answers to questions people may have when considering whether, when and how to make the Lord’s Table open to those unwillingly absent from regular Sunday worship.

Taylor Burton-Edwards, GBOD