The return of communion wine on April 24

We're happy to share that the bishop's office and diocesan Council of Advice have authorized congregations to resume the use of wine as part of Eucharist, with guidelines for how it can be safely shared. As the churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles vary widely in terms of their size and how they distribute the elements of the Eucharist, Bishop Taylor has left it up to each individual congregation to implement the return to wine as part of communion in a way that makes sense for them.

Recently, Sarah Thomas and I met with Jeannie Christensen (Parish Council Worship chair) and Trinity's team of lay Eucharistic ministers—the people who serve the chalice at Sunday worship—to discern and plan Trinity's approach. We went through a process of figuring out what questions we were trying to decide (i.e. what, when, how); we articulated the values that were most important to each of us concerning wine as part of communion (i.e. wanting to be as safe and inclusive as possible, respecting the sacredness of the consecrated wine, having a practice that is clear in order to reduce anxiety and allow people to be in the mystical moment as they receive); and then we evaluated the options outlined by the diocese over and against those values.

The process the group came up with will allow worshipers to receive either just the bread (in wafer form), or the bread and wine, with the wafer having been intincted (dipped) in the chalice by the clergy person distributing the bread, then putting the wafer into the parishioner's hands. The lay Eucharistic minister will be next to the clergy person, holding the chalice, and they will say the words we use when wine is part of communion, "The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation." There will be instructions written in the bulletin to remind people of the options available to them at communion (including, as always, a gluten free choice), and the presider will also announce the instructions each Sunday.

With respect to timing, the group decided that it was best to move to this new way of receiving the Eucharist on April 24 (the Sunday after Easter), as Holy Week and Easter often see much higher than usual attendance, with many visitors in our midst. Like with anything new or changed, we'll likely need a bit of time to work out what might be, at first, a ragged process; this will be easier to manage after Easter.

With faith and confidence that God's presence is with us in whatever ways we gather or receive the abundance of the Eucharist.

Faithfully,
Elizabeth+
The Rev. Elizabeth Molitors, Rector
Trinity Episcopal Church