CofE takes swine flu precautions

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York have "written to Bishops in the Church of England recommending the suspension of the sharing of the chalice at communion."

An extract:

The Department of Health have recently advised us that "in a pandemic it makes good sense to take precautions to limit the spread of disease by not sharing common vessels for food and drink". In the light of this advice, we recommend those presiding at Holy Communion suspend the administration of the chalice during this wave of pandemic flu. For those who still wish to offer in both kinds, we recommend the practice whereby the presiding minister, whose hands should have been washed with the appropriate alcohol based rub before handling the elements and the vessels, personally intincts all wafers before placing them in the hands of communicants. This is a practice widely observed in Anglican churches throughout Africa. Communicants receiving in this way need to be confident that the clergy and all assistant ministers follow the relevant guidance on hygiene.
Read it all here.

Posted by John B. Chilton on July 23, 2009 12:29 PM | |
Comments (2)

Considerable comment at Thinking Anglicans:
http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/003913.html#comments

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 23, 2009 10:14 PM

Perhaps it's been covered in detail over at ThinkingAnglicans...but how does it work? Placing an intincted wafer on someone's *hand* (as opposed to on his/her tongue) seems difficult at best, terribly messy at worst. Anyone with experience in Africa care to chime in?

Posted by (The Rev'd) M. Edwin Beckham [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 24, 2009 8:39 PM

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