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The night before he was betrayed and killed, Jesus had a meal with his disciples. This meal was part of the Jewish Passover. During the meal he took a piece of bread and broke it. This bread would have been matzos - like a large cracker, not a loaf. Jesus said the bread was his body which was about to be broken. He passed the bread round and told all of them to take a bit. He then took a cup of wine and said it was his blood that was going to be spilt for them. He passed the cup round telling them all to drink from it. Jesus told his disciples that they should do this in remembrance of him.
Still today Christians have a special ceremony when they eat and drink to remember Jesus. This ceremony is called Communion, or The Lord's Supper. Some churches call it the Eucharist or Mass.
 What exactly do you do?
Somebody at the front of the church picks up a loaf of bread and tears it. Other people then carry the bread, on a plate, round to each person in the meeting. People can either tear a piece off the loaf or take a bit that has already been cut off from the plate. As people take a piece of bread they eat it and remember Jesus.
When everyone has been served, the person at the front holds up a cup and invites everyone to drink. Other people carry round holders that have lots of little cups. Each little cup has red grape juice in. When everyone has a little cup, the person at the front invites everyone to drink at the same time.
Why don't you use wine?
Jesus used wine and all the disciples drank from the same cup. Some churches still do this. Other churches are concerned that any recovering alcoholics in the meeting would be in danger if we used wine. To avoid this we use grape juice or some other non-alcoholic drink. Alcohol kills germs which is why everyone can drink from the same cup if it contains wine. We have to use separate cups for hygiene reasons. We all drink at the same time to remind us that we are all one.
What is the point?
Taking communion reminds us of the fact that Jesus died so that we can become children of God. In a special way, Jesus is present with us when we do this. Jesus also said he would not drink wine again until he drank it in the Kingdom of God. The apostle Paul said 'Now whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes' (I Corinthians 11:26). So communion also reminds us that Jesus is coming back.
Who can take it?
We do not check on people before giving communion. We trust that people who are not ready will not take it. Communion is for those who have decided to follow Jesus. Paul warns us to examine ourselves before taking communion. If we feel guilty about something we pray to God and say sorry. If we don't feel guilty about anything we probably should do. None of us is perfect; and if we were we would probably be proud and that would be wrong. We do not expect very young children to understand or take communion.
If you want to read about the Last Supper and communion here are the Bible passages:
The story told by Matthew, Mark and Luke
Paul instructs christians on taking communion.
Why are the stories different?
The police know that when three people give evidence about an incident each person remembers different things. If they all tell exactly the same story they must have agreed between them what to say. This is why Matthew, Mark and Luke have slight differences. Paul was not there and says he is passing on what he was told by those who were.
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