How do i address a concern about church?
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| Mon, 01-02-2006 - 12:38pm |
I have a question i belong to an Episcopal Church in my area and have only one problem with the services and am not sure how to address this. When you take your communion they let the entire church drink from the same cup..with the bread. Heres my problem, this is very unsafe. They typically have a teenager pass the cup around to the members..and between people they wipe the rim with a cotton cloth this will not kill bacteria and other things that you can catch by coming in contact with others saliva. My family and i went to the christmas eve mass and were sitting towards the back of the church after noticing half of the church was sick and coughing..we declined doing communion altogether in fears we would definitely get sick. How do i address this concern i have? My motherinlaw disagrees with me and told my kids to just dip there bread in the glass. but that doesnt solve the problem. The minister drinks before everyone so she is not very concerned. I have actually thought about switching churches due to this ritual..I know in Baptist churches they pass you an individual cup..and catholic churches just hand you a wafer of bread..so the idea of drinking after 200 strangers is very unsettling..DO you have any advice on how i can direct my concerns to the church on this matter? Thanks so much.

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Hi there,
I agree that this is a very unsanitary situation. I would worry about colds, flu, cold sores, etc. etc. YUCK. The whole thing is gross, I don't even drink out of my kids cups.
How I would personally address this is speak to other members of the congregation and ask them their thoughts. You could form a committee to raise money to purchase individual communion glasses with trays. This same committee could also arrange to have members rotate each week to wash the tiny glasses after service and keep them clean and shiny.
Just my 2 cents..Good Luck
*Star*
Having grown up Episcopalian, I'm very familiar with the custom and I'm afraid you're not going to like my answer.
I have to agree with ginger.
Catholic Mass includes wine, also drunk from the common cup, as you describe in your Episcopal church. The wine is a choice, I believe, from what my relatives say, and receiving the bread/Host is sufficient, and a personal choice. My DH, raised Episcopal, always had both and said they never even thought about the health risks or even talked about the possiblities, in his family. People I talked to just don't seem all that concerned about it. The spiritual aspects seem more of a priority than worries about health risks... Of course, they only reflect their own attitudes toward it. I'd talk to your rector at your church, sharing your concerns. Perhaps you can just elect to take the Bread/Host in the Episcopal service, as well?
Just thought I'd comment on that, based on my relatives input. :P
Gypsy
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
I'm so sorry about this for you. It must be a terrible feeling about the common cup being unsettling to you. I can also understand, as Ginger said, that you aren't going to change it. The most similar other churches to yours all use the common cup, so if you up and changed churches
I have often wondered the same thing. I thought, there's no way people can be that dumb! I'm going to go read your replies. You're smart for not drinking from it, don't.
Even if the cloth they used to wipe it had alcohol on it or something, my lips would never touch it.
Betsy
"Simply trust that it will be ok?" Are you kidding? That's like saying don't be treated for Cancer cause God will just take it away.
Use your head people, don't drink from another's cup, don't use their toothbrushes and don't put your mouth on other people's utensils. God, this is the age of AIDS. It can stay dormant for years before you will even know you have it.
Not everone who gets a cold will be 'dropping like flies'.
I go to Catholic Mass and there is no wine cup that's passed around for everyone to drink from. They put the host in my hand and I get it from there. Not the same for all Catholics.
I can't even believe what was said in some of these posts. It's on your conscience for a reason.
Just pass on the wine, I PROMISE nobody's going to hell for it. Jeez. hahaha this is too God Fearing for me. GoodBye.
Betsy
http://www.anglican.ca/faith/ministry/euc-practice-infection.htm
I cannot believe the amount of insensitivity and ignorance you just showed in that post.
Going to church and worshipping is about faith. And there are plenty of people who put their faith in God before they trust medical treatment.
You cannot get AIDS from sharing a cup, communion or otherwise, the exception of course would be an open sore or something in the mouth...and within the walls of my church, I would trust the people inside it...to abstain if they were sick with something like that. If anything the risk of
I have often wondered the same thing. I thought, there's no way people can be that dumb! I'm going to go read your replies. You're smart for not drinking from it, don't.
As music mentioned above,
What are your joyful daily rituals?
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