Sunday, October 02, 2011

Gluten Free communion bread

Today was Worldwide Communion Sunday.  For those of you who didn't grow up in the church or just have no idea what that means or why it's important, it's basically a Sunday where many churches around the world have decided to celebrate communion or the Eucharist.  It's really neat to realize that on this particular Sunday churches all over the world are doing the same thin, albeit often in very different ways.
The church I worshiped with this morning served communion with naan-bread and grape juice.  Other churches served wafers and wine.  Others served white wonder bread. Some bread had leaven, other bread was unleavened. Tonight a friend served me homemade gluten free bread with cranberry juice. Regardless of what was served and the exact theology each congregation holds to, it was all a celebration of the same thing, the marvelous sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
As I sat there, not taking communion in full (we were served by intinction (dipping the bread in the cup) this morning , but I got a cup from the elder that was serving those who couldn't get to the front), I thought about bread.  If you've read what I've written about communion before, you know that the bread is a big stumbling block for me. The gluten found in most bread can make me super sick. And that's not fun.  So, as I sat there I thought about gluten free options for communion (for the bread only...if you want to read more about doing gluten free communion properly/safely, read one of these posts: Post 1, Post 2 or talk to me (I've done some work on this topic) or someone in your congregation who has experience with gluten free eating.).

One option that is relatively easy and safe is to take gluten free communion wafers.  These are certified gluten free and keep really well.  Of course, if your church has been using bread since the foundations of time, it might be a bit of a huge switch and something you have to work through as a congregation.  The most common (perhaps only) gluten free communion wafer is from Ener-G foods.  It is free from just about everything including leaven, nuts, egg, dairy, shellfish, corn and more.

Another option is store bought gluten free bread.  If that's what you want to do, and if that's what is going to work best for your congregation, you want to pick one that doesn't have a huge list of ingredients.  The more ingredients the bread has, the more likely someone is to be allergic to something in it.  You also want to make sure you get one that isn't crumbly, which is hard.    If your congregation is nut free, Kinnikinnick foods are all nut free, but many of them have eggs and dairy in them, so if you are going with a store bought bread, check with your congregation.  I think they all have corn so I can't have any of them and I don't know how the crumble factor works.  Other companies such as Udi's or Glutino also make gluten free bread, which I think is nut free, but does contain eggs and dairy.  Again, check with your congregation to see if this works.  In Ontario check out El Peto.  They have lots of different breads and some are free of most allergens, such as their potato bread (one of my favorites when I'm on the farm).


Yet another option is to have someone in your congregation bake gluten free bread.  All the cautions that apply to using store bought bread apply to this option too, along with making sure the person is who doing the baking understands allergy friendly baking and the risk of cross contamination. 


The most important thing is to talk to your congregation.  Don't assume you know that they need. Because you don't.  Talk to you congregation and really listen to them. 

8 comments:

Olga said...

My Mom said Drayton had gluten-free bread yesterday for communion.

Joy said...

I heard that from my mom too, but my mom didn't get to take communion because she was teaching SS. Did your mom have any comment on the bread they used for communion?

Olga said...

It didn't taste very good.

Olga said...

I find that too bad - the gluten-free wafers we had a few weeks ago were pretty good.

Joy said...

My dad said it was real crumbly. I have no idea what they used for gluten free bread, but not all GF bread has to be icky and super crumbly.
I'd be interested to know what they used and what they plan on using in the future, because that makes a huge difference for me when I'm there.
I wonder if going to GF wafers would be an option of if that is too big of a leap at this point...

Olga said...

I hope they'll consider it. I'm writing back to my Mom with the suggestion. She's on consistory so maybe she could suggest it.

Joy said...

Honestly, I think if I could take communion at DRC, I would cry. And they would be happy tears. Especially if it's done right and safe for me (ie: no cross contamination).
The day we all had GF communion here at seminary I cried because it was the first time I'd ever taken communion truly *with* everyone and not alongside separately.

Olga said...

I also like that the wafers are closer to unleavened bread. I really hope they'd consider doing it at Drayton. That would be so exciting.