So... How Did It Go?

Thanks to all of you with your insightful comments on things I could share with my new audience last Saturday. The "How-and-Why to Offer Gluten Free Communion" seminar went great!

We covered why to offer gf communion, including the latest statistics on Celiac disease and gluten intolerance from the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center, as well as other food allergy statistics. We covered what to use, from home baked breads to store bought to gluten free wafers.

We covered how to prepare communion in a safe way, free from cross-contamination.

(Seriously - can you SEE how awesome my church's deacons are? That's a brand new cutting board, a brand new knife, and a protective sheet of plastic between the gf communion bread and the table we use to serve regular donuts. I am so ridiculously blessed by our deacons!)

I also got to hear some really touching stories from people who suffer from Celiac or other food intolerances.

I heard from the grandmother of a 5-month old baby boy whose new mother has had to give up a dozen foods, from soy to gluten, because he cannot tolerate her breast milk when she eats those things.

I heard of man who is allergic to everything under the sun, and has had to special order his meals in restaurants for two decades.

I heard from a new pastor who went back to her home church for the holidays only to realize she could no longer partake at the same table with her friends and family.

Turnout for my seminar was a bit low (it was competing with eight or so others, and several of those speakers drew a serious crowd), but I was determined to get our message out to as many people as possible. So after we finished our seminar my two helpers (thank you, Melanie and Nicole!) and I went upstairs to the main room and asked to set up a table of gluten free bread samples. The powers-that-be readily agreed, and even announced to the whole assembly that gluten free communion bread samples were available if anyone wanted to try them.

Dozens of people tried the variety breads we had laid out (Udi's was a big favorite) and several of them took the instructional pamphlet I'd printed out with instructions on offering gf communion. It was an encouraging day to be sure.

Yet interspersed around the general feeling of hope and encouragement were some really sad moments.

One woman, who has been a faithful churchgoer for many, many years, sadly shared with me the story of when her home church tried gluten free communion for just one Sunday.

"They didn't even ask me what kind of bread to get," she said, "and then they picked a really bad one. Everyone hated it, and now they refuse to try gf communion ever again."

Even sadder were the handful of people who treated our display and my presentation with outright scorn.

"Do you have a wheat allergy?" one woman asked me. "Is that why you're doing this?"

I explained that I cannot eat gluten, but that there is a larger need out there than just my need. Six people within our group of local ministers and elders that I know, a boy in our church suffering from Autism, etc. She raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes, and said, "Right. I thought so," before walking away.

When the event's presenters announced that there were gluten free communion bread samples available for those who wanted to try them, a pastor's husband sitting only five feet from me loudly scoffed and said, "There is no way we are doing that."

I was astonished at these folks. Our denomination prides itself on its welcoming spirit and its inclusiveness. Yet for this one issue--an issue that (if you count all food allergies and intolerances) affects an estimated 9% of the population--a handful of them put a foot down to say, "No. We will not go this far." Where is the logic in this?

I have to admit that these few responses shocked me. I'm not on this bandwagon for selfish reasons. I also officiate at communion at our church. We already use gluten free bread here. I stand to gain nothing personally from educating my denomination to this need.

It's the stories I hear about people who sit in the pews for years, sometimes decades, without being able to partake at a common table that have inspired me to get the word out on this issue. These people hear the words of institution: "The body of Christ, broken for you," all while knowing that the body is not, in fact, broken for them. That eating this particular communion bread with their brothers and sisters in Christ would make them incredibly sick.

These few cranky people aside, I do have great hope for the church in this matter. People will come around, I have no doubt. And often all the naysayers need is to get to know someone personally who is suffering from Celiac or all the other host of ailments that gluten can cause. I didn't think any of this was important until I met my friend Emily was diagnosed nine years ago. Then, suddenly, I understood.

Speak up at your churches, friends. Often your pastor has no idea that you have a special need, and when that need is made known, he or she will do everything possible to make sure the Lord's table is open to you, too.

May the Lord's table truly be open to those who want to taste and see that the Lord is good--whatever their special needs.