A walk to the communion table at some Baptist churches these days will show an extra plate with a wafer that looks a little different than the tiny square crackers that have been passed around the pews for decades.
And a quick visit to the church supplies section of LifeWay Christian Resources’ website will show those same gluten-free wafers available right alongside their traditional counterparts.
For many suffering from celiac disease, a gastrointestinal disease that causes stomach pain and other issues, the extra plate has been a welcomed addition. About 1 in every 100 people deal with gluten intolerance, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.
Sales in gluten-free products have spiked in the past five years. Even Americans who can tolerate the protein, which is found in wheat, barley and rye, are sometimes opting for gluten-free diets.
Not everyone agrees
But not everyone sees the communion bread issue as one of inclusion — in a recent letter from the Vatican, Pope Francis told Catholics that for communion to be acceptable, the bread must contain at least some trace of gluten.
Wafers made of rice, potato, tapioca or other flours in place of wheat didn’t make the cut, the Pope said. The Catholic Church believes in transubstantiation, the idea that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ when consumed.
Because of that, they want to stay as close as possible to the elements of the first communion — the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples — and contain at least some wheat.
But Baptists consider communion a symbolic act and generally give themselves more leeway on the elements — such as using grape juice instead of wine.
According to Susan Blain, who serves on the faith and formation staff at the United Church of Christ’s Cleveland headquarters, “it was the Protestant churches who moved the congregations for the most part from wine to grape juice and that was because of the whole temperance movement and the concern that alcohol was dangerous to the health of a lot of people.”
No singular response
As autonomous churches, Baptists have historically been left to choose for themselves where they fall on the issue.
“Baptists do not have a singular response to this issue,” said Doug Wilson, dean of the office for global engagement at the University of Mobile.
“As baptized followers of Jesus covenanting together with like-minded followers of Jesus, we Baptists value the priesthood of the believer and the autonomy of the local church.”
As such, Baptists don’t have a prescribed perspective on the issue.
It’s about symbolism
“Such an issue as gluten free is not a matter of theological or ecclesiastical priority,” he said. “Why do we use preformed cubes … Why not oyster crackers? Why not homemade bread, right out of the oven? Why not unleavened bread, as in the Passover meal?”
For Wilson, it’s not an issue worth agonizing over — he would rather talk about the symbolism of the supper and use it as a bridge to discuss the heart of the gospel message, “namely, Jesus’ death for sinners and victorious resurrection.” (TAB, RNS contributed)
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