Latest news with #communion
Telegraph
4 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Fussy eaters have terrorised restaurants. Don't let them wreak havoc in church
Sunday mornings for the Church of England parish priest are hectic. As the sun shoots through the edges of the curtains and many of us edge under the duvet, the vicar is up and about preparing for flock administration. In rural areas, such as ours, that can mean services in a handful of some seven churches. So they must prepare to chug along the lanes and then warmly greet the noble volunteers who have cleaned and decorated the church and then officiate for 14 odd souls who have bothered to turn up. Later that day, there might be more services and some private visits to elderly parishioners who request the sacrament at home. The visiting priest, a throwback to the days – now hard to imagine – when a doctor did home visits. She might already be wearing a clerical shirt and stiff dog collar, black trousers and black shoes, but onto the back seat goes the cassock, surplice, the seasonal stole, then maybe some wellies to get up that muddy church track. As there are communion services today, there's also a Tupperware box of communion wafers, as delivered by post from FA Dumont Church Supplies and a bottle of Poterian Fair Trade Communion Wine (a light South African bottle, fortified to 15 per cent and with a balancing sweetness, akin, but not as heavy, to port). Then, onto the front seat goes their Bible, prayer book and the little black book with their sermons in and their phone with the list of churches waiting for their officiating. But then, what's this? Their other half calls from the house: 'Darling, you left the dietaries on the kitchen table.' Lest they forget! There's four gluten-free in the first church, one in the second, one non-alc in the third. If dealing with declining attendance, rudderless leadership, poverty, leaking roofs and a visceral culture clash of modernity and tradition wasn't enough, the vicar must now cater for varying dietary requirements. Ahead of the General Synod, which began on Friday in York – an annual event of discussion and debate by the church's governing body – one Abigail Ogier, a lay synod member from the Diocese of Manchester, posted an official question as to what progress had been made to enable parishioners unable to consume alcohol or gluten to take communion. After all, Canon B17 of the Canons of the Church of England stipulates that bread for Communion must be made from 'the best and purest wheat flour that conveniently may be gotten' and that wine should be 'the fermented juice of the grape, good and wholesome'. And the Church's official view is that while you can water down the wine and fiddle with the bread recipe, it must still contain minimal wheat and the wine must still be made of fermented grape juice. Which is a red flag for the gluten-averse or non-alc purist. Many of whom have had enormous fun in recent years marauding their way through the hospitality sector parading their intolerances, often at the very last minute, just as the chef calls, 'Service!' at the pass. And, while I wouldn't for a moment doubt the likes of the genuine coeliac, nut-allergic, or alcohol-intolerant, everyone in hospitality knows that many people take pleasure in gloriously labelling themselves as intolerant as they worship the latest food fad, paraded by some pesky irritant on TikTok. But the intolerant minority have sway, which is why whenever you order in a UK restaurant the server must ask, 'Does anyone have any allergies?' in spite of the fact that the overwhelming answer is 'no', and that if you have an intolerance the responsibility to remember and voice it should be on you. So will the intolerance purists cry foul if the C of E sticks by its guns? A blessing isn't quite the same as a full-on bit of Sunday morning transubstantiation. So doubtless to appease the shrieking few, the vicar must add to his burden of duties at the altar rail. 'Blood of Christ, Non-alc or 15 per cent ABV… Body of Christ, single cross, sealed edge, diameter special wholemeal or individually-wrapped gluten free?' As a restaurant critic with a diagnosed intolerance of wheat, dairy and alcohol, which I studiedly ignore as the fun of consumption outweighs the ensuing dodgy tummy, I'll never waver from a wheat-based wafer. And I demand the 15 per cent ABV. The reward of slogging through a service being that little morning hit of alcohol. I'm not sure if it's the blood of Christ, but my own spirits certainly soar.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Church of England considers holy communion options for gluten-intolerant
The Church of England is looking into the options for people who cannot eat gluten or drink alcohol to receive holy communion. Earlier this year the Church issued a statement to clarify it was not banning gluten-free bread or non-alcoholic communion wine, following a widely-reported question asked ahead of its February General Synod. That question noted that under Church law the use of wheat alternatives for communion bread such as rice or potato flour 'are prohibited' and that communion wine would always have at least a residual alcohol content. Asker Reverend Canon Alice Kemp described it as an 'injustice' that some people could therefore not partake in communion. Holy communion is one of the central sacraments of the Christian faith, with the bread and wine given to the congregation symbolising the body and blood of Christ. The Church confirmed gluten-free bread or non-alcoholic wine is routinely offered at churches across the country, noting that many professional ecclesiastical suppliers have long provided wine or bread 'which may contain tiny traces of alcohol or gluten which can legitimately be considered non-alcoholic or gluten-free'. Ahead of this month's Synod, another member asked what progress had been made on ensuring people who are unable to consume gluten or alcohol 'in even trace amounts' can receive holy communion. Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Reverend Dr Michael Ipgrave, said those who 'cannot physically receive the sacrament (including those who may have an allergy or intolerance to one or both elements) are to be assured that they are partakers by faith of the body and blood of Christ and of the benefits he conveys to us by them'. He added that the accessible liturgy working group is looking at providing guidance for best practice in the administration of holy communion and considering the specific case of someone who cannot consume even trace amounts of gluten or alcohol 'and the theological, liturgical, and legal basis for the teaching of the Church of England on this matter'. Synod – known as the Church's parliament – will run from Friday to Tuesday. It will, in a rare occurrence, hear from a senior military figure on Friday afternoon. Brigadier Jaish Mahan, a Christian who served in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, will address Synod members on the current global climate and the challenges for the UK, as well as speaking of his own experience in the military. It comes after the Church confirmed it is preparing for how it might respond should 'serious conflict' break out, including looking back to the leadership shown by senior religious figures during the Second World War. Legislative changes are due to be brought before Synod, which would allow Armed Forces chaplains, when operating in their roles, to minister under an Archbishops' licence without also having to hold diocesan PTO (permission to officiate). The current rules add a serious administrative burden and make it more difficult for chaplains to deploy within the UK at the pace required by their roles, a Synod paper states.
