How many people received communion yesterday, and how many found it strangely changed?
At Thoresway, we were given no options: we received the bread (wafer) and no wine. I know this has long been the practice in the Roman Catholic church, but to me the sharing of the Body and Blood is of fundamental importance.
At Great Limber they dipped the wafers in the wine rather than drinking from the common cup.
At Caistor apparently they were given the options: share, dip or bread only and left to make up their own minds.
Alcohol is a pretty good disinfectant, while silver - especially silver wiped over with linen - has almost magical properties of cleanliness. By all means give people a choice, but if kneeling close together, shaking hands (kissing?) as we pass the peace and again at the end of the service hasn't passed on any germs going, is taking a sip of fortified wine from a silver chalice going to increase the danger to any significant degree?
Later
I see from Rev Ruth's blog http://revruth.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/living-dangerously that Passing the Peace is also regarded as dangerous - nobody mentioned that at Thoresway or, I believe, Caistor or Limber.
In Aylesbury the option to receive wine was removed - claimed to be on the instructions of the Archbishop of Canterbury - but the present incumbent needs no encouragement to get back to pre vatican ii - in fact theologically he has probably never moved on from there; (apart from having a wife who is also ordained) I cannot quite see why he ever became an Anglican Priest at all.
But wait for it - the shaking of hands, at both the Peace and at the Church door was declared off limits - the congregation were instructed to 'bow, smile or...wave!'