NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The United Methodist Church is reviewing its communion policy to determine who should be invited to participate, according to the United Methodist News Service (UMNS).

The denomination's unofficial but widely practiced policy is "open table," meaning everyone, baptized or not, is invited to partake in the Lord's Supper. The official policy calls for baptism prior to Holy Communion, according to the UMNS.

"There is no question about serving anyone who comes to receive," said the Rev. Dan Benedict, a staff executive with the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. "The question is one of policy and theological understanding: Who is invited to the table?"

The denomination's top legislative body, the General Conference, ordered the study during its 2000 meeting. Church leaders want a common policy relating to frequency, participants' worthiness, appropriate elements, distribution methods, service length, and authority to administer communion, according to the UMNS.

A 19-member churchwide Holy Communion Study Committee will issue its report during the denomination's 2004 General Conference. The conference meets every four years. In the meantime, the committee is holding listening sessions with various UMC clergy and lay people around the country.

"The issue is not whom do we bar from the table, but rather what practices of baptism and Holy Communion bring seekers into responsible discipleship," said the Rev. L. Edward Phillips, the committee's chairman.