When I was a kid, I used to enter contests in events at family reunions, 4Th of July celebrations, summer community youth programs, Girl Scout camps and the like. There were two contests that I usually had a chance at winning; one was the water balloon/egg toss, and the other was the three-legged race.

This little poem “Sanctorum Communio” (Community of the Saints) was written in my (David Flowers) personal journal of prayers and meditations on February 4, 2007.

When the question regarding church practice was brought up, there were only four requests that the Jerusalem church laid upon the Gentile believers. Of all the issues they could have addressed, they chose four that touched on diet and relationships. There was no mention of consistent tithing, church attendance, church membership, appropriate “spiritual covering,” or signed statements of faith.

This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul’s letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups.