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Video summary

The Christian ritual of Holy Communion is introduced. Communion means, simply, ‘togetherness’ and this is a ritual to show the togetherness of Christians and God.

The Last Supper was Jesus’ last meal before he died and he shared two signs with his followers: bread as a symbol for his body being broken, and wine as a symbol for his blood being spilled when he was crucified.

11 year old Nathan has been to classes to learn about the meaning of the bread and wine before he was considered ready to join in with Holy Communion in his Church of England.

Kiera and Santos, both 8, are Roman Catholic Christians.

We see them getting ready for their first communion – an important step for Catholics. Kiera has a new white dress for her first communion, and a party afterwards.

Blessing the bread, in Catholic belief, turns it into the body of Christ. This is called a ‘sacrament.’

This clip is from the series My Life, My Religion: Christianity.

Teacher Notes

Before showing the clip, the class could have a little tasting session: bring some different kinds of fresh bread to the class (e.g. pitta, a French stick, some croissants, wholemeal bread, a fruity naan or whatever is easy to get from your local store – remember to check for allergies).

Pupils could taste a little bit of each kind of bread and then discuss and make a list of all the people who you could thank for this bread – can they think of 5 ‘thank yous’ for each kind of bread?

What does the bread of Holy Communion mean to these young Christians?

What do they remember when they receive this bread?

Ask children to sum up what they have learned by writing into a line drawing of a loaf of bread and a wine cup what these two symbols mean for Christian children.

This topic will be relevant to teaching Religious Education at KS2 or KS3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 2 or 3 in Scotland.

More from My Life, My Religion: Christianity series

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