The Anglican Church of Canada’s Ontario parishes will be reopening in colour coded phases.
Red: Buildings shut for congregational worship. This will be the case until September.
Amber: Open with masks encouraged, no congregational singing, continued physical distancing, Communion with bread only.
Green: Back to normal – more or less.
Black: Parish closes due to lack of interest. OK, I admit I made that one up.
Read the whole thing here:
God would likely choose BLACK.
In the age of the Internet, we can have online churches with no buildings to worry about. When Jesus returns to earth, everybody will see Him at the same time on the Internet.
The alcohol in the HC wine kills virtually all bugs on contact. I believe that botulism may be an exception.
The common cup is not an issue with online worship.
Canadian Journal of Public Health
Vol. 58, No. 7 (July 1967), pp. 305-310
Infection Hazards of the Common Communion Cup
Kenneth F. Gregory, John A. Carpenter, and Glen C, Bending
https://www.eecs.yorku.ca/~wallis/41984817.pdf
Well, well. I was quoting my dear Father, a parish ‘priest’ all his working life. Perhaps that’s why I, who cannot receive any red wine at all, and for decades used intinction plus antihistamine, still flourish at 82.
The common cup, besides its symbolism, of course goes back to Jewish custom at a time when watered wine was the only ‘safe’ ordinary drink.
“We all have to eat/drink a peck of dirt before we die” is the old saying!
I was always partial to the separate little Presbyterian style thimbles full of grape juice.
My feeling always was that the grapejuice made it inauthentic and the little thimbles were not communal enough for communion!
There used to be non-alcoholic pink stuff available in England called Sacratinta that my Father abominated …
Interesting. I have always felt it is more communal as everyone is partaking at the same time rather than in turn. The church I attended then was the UCC so I don’t think authenticity was a concern there. I don’t know if any style of communion offered in churches today is authentic.
I think the grape juice was, and still is, in consideration of those who may have a problem with alcohol, or are just opposed to its use. Also, it was cheap. The church I attend now (or did before Covid-19) makes sure one one of the communion stations offers apple juice as a substitute. I have not asked but I suspect apple juice is used because it is generally acceptable and easily distinguished from grape juice by its colour.
Non-alcoholic pink stuff? Sounds dreadful.
It makes sense to keep acoC buildings closed as long as possible as, due to their average age, the Wuhan virus is most communicable to their communicants. Simpy put they can’t afford to lose the majority of their members that quickly.
Some of my American relatives actually do not worry about attending their churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faith matters to them. They do not fear death. To them, death is the way to be with their Heavenly Father.
Regardless, when our churches finally re-open in September or November, we will not be able to operate like the pre-COVID-19 days.