Communion can be 'allergy-free'

By Shirley Ragsdale
Des Moines (Iowa) Register

While low-gluten hosts are acceptable for Roman Catholic communion, Sondi Dubbs of the Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines, Iowa, says gluten-free wafers are suitable for her Protestant denomination. Gannett News Service Where to order special wafers To order low-gluten hosts that fulfill Roman Catholic eucharistic mandates, write to the Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Altar Breads Department, 31970 State Highway P, Clyde, MO 64432. Or go online to benedictinesisters.org. For gluten-free communion wafers suitable for Protestant denominations, write to Ener-G Foods Inc., 5960 First Ave. South, P.O. Box 84487, Seattle, WA 98124-5787. Or go online to ener-g.com.

So it is a blessing that many churches are becoming more aware of people who cannot eat grain products with gluten.

Among those who avoid wheat are people with celiac disease, a genetic digestive disorder triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and other grains. When consumed by people who are gluten-intolerant, it can cause severe damage to the intestines and other complications.

The staff at Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines, Iowa, became aware of the disease when the mother of a girl studying for her first communion asked if "we could come up with something to address the child's health condition," says Gail Smith, office manager for the church.

"At first, it was just a matter of making sure one child didn't feel left out," Smith says. "But it seemed logical that others might share the problem and appreciate being able to come forward."

At the church's communion service, the pastor announces which of the six lines of worshippers will be "allergy-free."

"We also have a lot of people in alcohol recovery, so we offer grape juice as well," says the Rev. Richard Webb, a teaching pastor.

In 2001, the challenge of balancing the Roman Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law against the health needs of a first communicant received national news coverage. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston told the child's parents that a rice wafer could not be used but the child could consume wine alone. The family left the church for another congregation.

According to church law, "the bread used in the celebration of the most Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat. ... Bread made from another substance, even if it is grain, or if it is mixed with another substance ... does not constitute valid matter for confecting the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament."

Fulfilling the wheat requirement is less of a problem for Catholic celiacs today, according to Jim Bond, director of the office of worship for the Des Moines Catholic Diocese.

"Cardinal Law was just following what the Vatican was saying then," Bond says. "Earlier this year, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (in Clyde, Mo.) discovered the formula for low-gluten hosts that fulfill the church's requirements."

The total gluten content of the communion hosts is 0.001 percent, which is considered safe for most celiac sufferers but sufficient to conform to the canons. The sisters' wafers, which have the blessing of celiac researchers and the Vatican, are the only product approved for use at Mass in the United States.

"The Benedictine sisters have done us a great service," Bond says.

The United Methodist Church has no church law or official rule that would prevent congregants from receiving the sacrament in the form of gluten-free bread, according to Dan Benedict, worship services director of the United Methodist Church General Board of Discipleship.

"The substance of the sign is in the signified, Jesus Christ, and not in the chemical makeup of the sign," Benedict says.

Lutherans have a similar belief, according to Webb.

"We believe when we preach the Gospel, Christ is present in the word of the preacher," Webb says. "Likewise, when we preach forgiveness in the Lord's Supper, Christ is present. Whether the bread is wheat, corn, gluten-free is not important. The word of God is what is important."