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Extending the Table

A Guide for a Ministry of Home Communion Serving

by Mark Stamm

Paperback

Clergy & Laity Older Adults

"Who is missing?" Mark Stamm says this is a question 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.

Product Details
About the Author

Format:	Paperback
ISBN:	978-0-88177-553-2
Publisher:	The Upper Room
Imprint:	Discipleship Resources
Publication Date:	02/01/2009
Pages:	144
Dimensions:	9.0000 x 6.0000

Mark W. Stamm is Professor of Christian Worship emeritus at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he served on the faculty from 2000 to 2025. He is a 1995 graduate (Th.D.) of the Boston University School of Theology. He served 46 years under a bishop’s appointment from 1979 (as a local pastor during his senior year as an undergraduate) through his retirement as an elder in full connection from the Horizon Texas Conference in 2025. Before arriving at Perkins, he served as pastor of several local churches, primarily in Pennsylvania. These days, he’s still trying to figure out how retirement and discipleship fit together but finds himself inspired by the Macedonian vision to “come over ... and help us …” (Acts 16:9). Answering that call—to be a helpful retiree—finds him serving in a variety of contexts, both within United Methodism and in ecumenical contexts beyond it, and it led to his accepting the call to revise and update this study guide. He also serves as Historian for The Order of Saint Luke and is an active member in the Society for American Baseball Research. He has been married to his wife Margie, also since 1979, and together, they are the parents of two adult sons.
Photo by Hillsman Stuart Jackson

Reviews

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