Return to the Common Cup

Dear friends,

This past week we received an email notice from Bishop Dietsche authorizing the return to the Common Cup. To quote from his letter:

"I am happy to authorize, effective immediately, the return to Communion in Both Kinds, and to permit, and encourage, the restoration of the Common Cup in the worship of our churches."

You can read his full letter below. I am glad to announce that we will return to serving the chalice at Epiphany beginning at our 10:30 am Holy Eucharist this Sunday!

Bishop Dietsche also gives another important directive:

"For churches which practice Intinction, I do want to make an additional instruction. The last two years have raised for all of us again the question of hygiene and communion. Two thousand years of experience have taught us that wine can be safely communicated when people drink from the Common Cup, if the eucharistic minister properly wipes the cup between communicants. The practice, however, of people dipping the host into the chalice with their own fingers carries a high likelihood of fingers touching or plunging into the wine itself. Every eucharistic minister has seen this, and it is a certainty that this is an unclean and unsafe practice. Intinction is an acceptable practice in administering communion, but it is correctly done by the priest or eucharistic minister, with clean washed hands, dipping the host into the wine and placing it on the tongue of the communicant. The practice of people dipping the host themselves is not permitted. "

We will be following Bishop Dietsche's directive. If you prefer intinction, please keep the Host in your outstretched palm. It will then be intincted for you, and placed on your tongue. Alternately, you may drink out of the Cup. Of course, if you do not wish to receive from the Cup, simply cross your hands over your chest, and wait for the Cup to pass you by.

Click Here to view Bishop Dietsche's letter.

If you have any questions about this, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or Deacon Horace.

Faithfully,

Elise