Putting the Wine back into Swine Flu

Just had some new guidance from our Diocese (Bath and Wells) which says that, given the dip in swine flu cases, churches can go back to having bread and wine if they want to:

we are content that incumbents and priest-in-charge, in consultation with their churchwardens, may resolve to return to the use of a common cup if they so desire, after careful consideration of the risks and factors involved. We append a helpful summary of some of the issues, which we hope you will take note of when making your decision.

This was also worth saying:

If people question the action that churches have taken in recent weeks, it is important to remind them that this has never been about ‘protecting ourselves’. It has been about avoiding transmitting infection unwittingly to others. Furthermore, we have never suggested ‘banning the Peace’ and we regard it as important that worshippers have the opportunity to greet each other in this way.

Most intriguing:
physical exchanges between members of a congregation... are almost impossible to avoid* There must be some pretty rough churches in Somerset then. Our lot only fight amongst themselves once a month at the most. At least I think it's fighting they're talking about.

Meanwhile here's the real issue.

* the omitted words are either directly or indirectly (through touching church furniture, for example), but I just took them out for fun...

Swine Flu Symptoms

Just trying to clarify a list of key swine flu symptoms for our church members, following yesterdays advice:

- sweating like a pig
- a case of the trots
- nasty rasher cross the body
- snuffling
- pork oncentration
- slops (either end)
- tender loin

best to wrap in a blanket until cured.

(and if you were after some serious reflection on swine flu and communion, Peter Kirk's blog has a debate on the theology of recieving only wine at communion, and Thinking Anglicans are discussing the practicalities. I hadn't realised the existence of the 1547 Sacraments Act until reading the latter.)

(S)wine flu

A couple of days after we decided at the parish staff meeting to stop giving wine at Communion, the Church of England has followed our lead:

It now seems right to offer guidance at a national level about how the
Church of England’s worship might best take into account the interests of public
health during the current phase of the swine flu pandemic.

The Department of Health have recently advised us that “in a pandemic
it makes good sense to take precautions to limit the spread of disease by not
sharing common vessels for food and drink”.

In the light of this advice, we recommend those presiding at Holy Communion
suspend the administration of the chalice during this wave of pandemic
flu. For those who still wish to offer in both kinds, we recommend
the practice whereby the presiding minister, whose hands should have been washed
with the appropriate alcohol based rub before handling the elements and the
vessels, personally intincts all wafers before placing them in the hands of
communicants. This is a practice widely observed in Anglican churches throughout
Africa. Communicants receiving in this way need to be confident that the clergy
and all assistant ministers follow the relevant guidance on hygiene.

this has gone to all the diocesan bishops, some of whom were ahead of the game and had advised this already.

Great news for any parishes which were thinking about changing from grape juice to fortified wine, or vice versa, as you can introduce it after the break after 'sustained theological reflection'. Actually, it'll be easier to introduce the alcholic stuff, as that truly will be for 'medicinal purposes'.

Swine Flu leaflet for Sunday

Based on a helpful circular forwarded by Richard Frank, from the Diocese of London, here's what we're putting out to our folks on Sunday. Yeovil had its first confirmed case of swine flu earlier this week at a local secondary school, which is now closing early for the summer hols. The text below fits onto a double-sided A5 leaflet in 12 point Times New Roman.

Or if you think this is all taking it too seriously, the Beaker Folk have an alternative.

(update: Blackburn Diocese has now advised it's churches to stop sharing wine at communion. Latest news here, 'worst case' is 30% of us get it, and well over 99.5% live to tell the tale. More also at Ruth Gledhills blog, including some good advice from Parish Nursing)

Latest news on Swine Flu
As you may know, there are now cases of swine flu in Yeovil, and nationally the number of cases is expected to rise strongly by early September. 5-14 year olds are the age group most affected at present. Infection rates have been lowest among the over-60s.

The most common symptoms are fever, sore throat, diarrhoea, headache, feeling generally unwell and a dry cough – in other words, symptoms very similar to seasonal influenza. Most people recover within a week, even without antiviral treatment.

Although symptoms have generally proved mild, a small number of patients will develop more serious illness. Many of these people have other underlying health conditions, such as heart or lung disease, that put them at increased risk.

What should people do if they think they have swine flu?
1. People should check their symptoms. They can o this by: visiting http://www.nhs.uk/ or by calling the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513;
2. If they still think they have Swine Flu, then people should call their local GP, who will be able to provide a clinical diagnosis over the phone.
3. If Swine Flu is confirmed, the GP will give the patient an authorisation voucher which their Flu Friend can then take to the designated local collection centre to pick up antivirals.
4. If you are showing flu-like symptoms, then please do not attend church services or other meetings.

Holy Communion and good hygiene measures
We are considering whether to move to sharing Communion with the bread only, until we have better advice on whether a shared cup is ok or not.
Both clergy and lay assistants at Holy Communion will need to ensure that hands are washed thoroughly.

We will also look to get supplies of alcohol gel hand rub for church and hall users, and to clean the hall and kitchen more regularly during the week to minimise the risk of infection.

Home visiting
Visitors need to exercise particular care when visiting people in their homes, as not only are they susceptible to infection themselves but could risk infecting others. It may be better to phone rather than visit in person.

Flu friends
‘Flu friends’ are relatives, neighbours and friends who will collect medicine and essential food supplies for people who have been diagnosed positive with Swine Flu. When someone is diagnosed with swine flu, they’re given a voucher or individual code that will enable prescribed medication to be collected on their behalf. ‘Flu friends’ should not however have direct contact with an infected person.

It’s a good idea to identify your ‘flu friend’ now, and if there are people living near you who may be a bit isolated, then being their ‘flu friend’ can be a valuable way of blessing your neighbours.

Church Services and Children’s Groups
It’s very unlikely that we’ll be advised to stop holding church services, though if local schools are closed in the autumn, we may have to think about childrens groups and Junior Church. Children are the most vulnerable to infection, and the most likely to pass it on.

Prayers:
Heavenly Father,
giver of life and health:
comfort and restore those who are sick,
that they may be strengthened in their weakness
and have confidence in your unfailing love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Creator and Father of all,
we pray for those who are ill.
Bless them, and those who serve their needs,
that they may put their whole trust in you
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Swine flu and sacraments

Sorry to get theological, but this news prompted me.

If it's really holy water, then how come it gets infected? (a point made here)

Reflecting on the recent child abuse scandal in the Irish Roman Catholic made me wonder about communion too. Official Catholic theology is that Jesus is really present in the bread and the wine. If that's true, then how come it makes no difference? Some of the people committing the abuse had imbibed their own bodyweight in Jesus during the course of their lives, and yet they went ahead and did evil anyway.

Transubstantiation always seemed a bit iffy to me, and I just wonder how Catholic theologians interpret what's supposed to happen at Communion and what clearly fails to happen to the people who recieve it?

A colleague tells the story of a high church vicar who was distraught that somehow a dog had managed to gobble up a consecrated wafer that had fallen on the floor. He rang a senior clergyman for advice and was told "If God was clever enough to get in there in the first place, then he's probably clever enough to have got out again before the dog ate him."

anyway, back to that holy water, everybody sing along now...
I go down to speakers corner I'm thunderstruck
They got free speech, tourists, police in trucks
Two men say they're Jesus one of them must be wrong
Theres a protest singer singing a protest song - he says
"they wanna have a war to keep us on our knees
They wanna have a war to keep their factories
They wanna have a war to stop us buying japanese
They wanna have a war to stop industrial disease

Theyre pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind
They wanna sap your energy incarcerate your mind
They give you rule brittania, gassy beer, page three
Two weeks in espana and sunday striptease"
Meanwhile the first Jesus says "I'd cure it soon
Abolish monday mornings and friday afternoons"
The other ones on a hunger strike he's dying by degrees
How come Jesus gets industrial disease?

Church Responses to Swine Flu

A couple of folks in our church went down with suspected swine flu' at the weekend (update: both back at work today, so it may not have been), so I had a quick peek round the blogosphere to see what other people are doing. Good discussions happening at most of these sites:

The Ugley Vicar has just had guidance from Chelmsford Diocese, which seems pretty thorough, though I sense he's not entirely impressed with it. They recommend antibacterial gel for anyone celebrating communion, carry on with a shared cup, but throw out the holy water as people come into church (drat). There's a useful checklist, and advice on hygiene, flu buddies etc. There are several other posts on his blog on the same subject.

Here's a snapshot from New Zealand, where some churchgoers have ignored advice to stay at home to avoid passing on the disease.

Prison Planet is thoroughly opposed to plans for a mass vaccination programme, and wonders how the government would enforce it. There's probably some comparisons to be drawn here with MMR, but not right now.

PaxtonVic is waiting for advice from Ely Diocese and trying to keep things in perspective. Thanks to her for the pic, which is Ship of Fools take on new clergy vestments. Discussion also here on her blog.

After a Nottingham church closed its Sunday service following some of the staff catching the bug, Phil Whitehead asks 'should swine flu close churches?'

OneTimothyFour has defended the possibly OTT 'common sense' advice being issued by churches, and looks forward to the abolition of the Peace.

Latest news here.

Swine Flu - Planning Ahead

It seems more and more likely that, when churches gear up again after the mellow month of August, swine flu will have taken hold in a big way. So I'm wondering if as a church we need to work out now how we're going to manage in the autumn.

Basic advice for individuals is here on the NHS site, very clear. Basically: have a 'flu friend' who can pick up antivirals for you, wash your hands regularly and use tissues, and ring your GP from home if you think you've got the symptoms. Health Protection Agency FAQ's on swine flu here.

Advice from the government for faith groups, issued in May, is here.

Lancaster Diocese (RC) has a helpful booklet.

Key things seem to be:

- vigilance over hygiene: washing hands etc. and encouraging folk in the church to do the same. In that regard, Dave Walkers cartoon may not be that far off. Cleaning door handles and surfaces, and then drying them afterwards, gives the virus less chance to hang around.

- plan for key services to be continued. Churches need to decide what their core activities are (worship, visiting, outreach) and how to maintain them if, say, 10-20% of key people are off with H1N1 at any stage. How will we let people know if services are cancelled? Could there be a prayer/service leaflet for people to use at home if this happens? Is there a publicly known phone/email contact for people to find out what you're doing? How will you communicate with people midweek if key events need to be changed/cancelled?

- how to support the community. Church folk could offer to be 'flu friends' for people who are isolated or who aren't sure who to ask. There may also be key local services (post office, shop etc.) which might need voluntary help to keep going if staff are ill.

- coping with extra demands: e.g. for funerals, pastoral care, home visiting etc. I'm guessing that some of this will look after itself - various meetings and appointments will be cancelled if swine flu really takes hold, and that will free up some clergy time for funerals. However, in my experience a funeral can take 4-5 hours to prepare and do, and it's quite exhausting, so it's not just a matter of doing a funeral rather than going to the Gutters Subcommittee. There's probably other things to look at, e.g. can Readers (CofE) be trained up to take funeral services? Can there be more support between churches if leaders are off sick?

- children: if local schools close, should Sunday school close too? Under-5's are both more infectious, and more vulnerable, so at some point we'll need to make the call over toddler groups etc., and to alert people to that as a possibility.

- Communion: thanks to Richard Frank for this 1-page summary from London Diocese, which points out that, in a mild pandemic, the chalice can be shared in communion if you follow the proper hygiene rules. However the Catholic church has been advising some of its churches just to use bread for communion, and to put it in people's hands, rather than on the tongue (as happens in some churches). Our advice from the council is not to share communion from the same cup. That means Free Church individual cups will be ok. We might also need to rethink sharing the peace, and the vicar/pastor/etc. shaking hands with everyone as they arrive/leave.

The CofE website has a swine flu page, with links to prayers, and a couple of other links - unfortunately the one to the NHS is broken!

We've started discussing all of the above this week, it would be helpful to know if anyone else is further down the tracks than we are.