The other day I received a call from reporter at one of the daily newspapers in Connecticut. I find that I am in a lot of reporters’ address books since I have worked in so many communities in New England. What she wanted to know was whether I was going to stop dispensing the Holy Communion during the cold and flu season. I was tempted to point out that a priest excommunicating his entire congregation is something that I don’t believe has happened since the Middle Ages but, instead, I gave a ponderous historical response that ensured that I would never be quoted in an American newspaper.
However, I did speak to a professional about what would be best for us to do, a physician who specializes in infectious disease, and he said the likeliest way that H1N1 would spread in a congregation would be if I were so infected and handled the sacramental bread without first using anti-bacterial solution on my hands. Although I am not carrying the H1N1 flu at this time, I can promise the congregation that, during the general exchange of the peace, I will be unobtrusively in the vestry washing my hands in anticipation of the consecration of the elements.
Also, I would remind the congregation that there are three ways in which one may receive the Blood of Christ. The first, and most traditional, is drinking from the proffered cup. The second is to practice intinction, touching the bread not directly into the wine itself but to the interior wall of the cup [and not directly and deeply into the wine itself]. The third method, viaticum, is generally used either by those who are in recovery for alcoholism or intubated in a hospital bed, but is no less valid for use by those concerned about disease. With viaticum, the communicant simply touches the chalice while the priest or lay minister issues the words of ministration [“The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation” or similar expressions].
The Holy Communion will always be offered “in both kinds”, that is, in bread and wine, as that is a key feature of our tradition that has remained inviolate for half a millennium. So serious are we as a church about this feature that we are reminded that many of those who delivered the sacrament in both kinds in the early days of our tradition suffered remarkable punishments, all so that would have both the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord as part of the liturgy. I would also remind the congregation that another feature of Anglicanism is that we respect individual choices in this matter, rather than make choices on behalf of those who join us in worship.