No more wine, handshakes or hugs? Churches across the US react to the coronavirus
Churches across the United States are heeding health officials’ warnings to stop the spread of the coronavirus — and its changing the way service looks.
Leaders in the Catholic and Episcopal churches have issued guidelines for dealing with the virus. Most are optional, and some build on protocol churches typically enact during the flu season.
Among the most surprising? Suspending communal wine, handshakes and hugs.
“(During the) sharing of the Peace: waving is perfectly acceptable in place of shaking hands or hugging,” Episcopal Relief & Development said in a summary of “faith-based responses” to COVID-19.
The United Conference of Catholic Bishops stopped short of issuing such recommendations in a statement on Feb. 18, but individual dioceses have since issued their own suggested changes to service.
Episcopalians and Catholics take Holy Communion — also sometimes referred to as the Eucharist — on a weekly basis, during which time parishioners receive “the body and blood of Christ” in the form of a wafer or bread and wine.
This can involve sipping from the same chalice as other parishioners, dipping the wafer into the chalice or having the wafer placed directly in one’s mouth, the Orange County Register reported.
They also “pass the peace,” when neighbors extend greetings and share the “peace of the Lord” with one another through handshakes or hugs, according to the Episcopal Dictionary of the Church.
But the arrival of coronavirus on the eve of Lent — a holy period in the Christian church before Easter during which time attendance can spike — has made these commonplace rituals somewhat problematic for church leaders.
On the West Coast
Several Catholic diocese in Southern California issued recommendations or mandatory changes to service in late February — when the first report of a coronavirus case with unknown origins was confirmed in Northern California’s Solano County.
The Orange County Register reported Catholic dioceses in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties issued statements banning “communion by cup, receiving the bread from hand to mouth, and holding and shaking hands during prayer and greetings.”
Only Orange County’s changes were mandatory, according to the newspaper.
In a letter to parishes, the Diocese of San Bernardino referred to them as “liturgical restrictions.”
“The faithful should be encouraged to share the Sign of Peace without touching hands or kissing,” the letter states. “This can be done with meaningful eye contact, smiles, and a bow of the head in reverence to one another.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles mirrored those guidelines, according to a letter sent to congregants on Feb. 26.
In the letter, Rev. Diane Jardine Bruce recommended using hand sanitizer during communion, receiving the bread without sipping from the cup, bowing heads at the peace and keeping distance from fellow parishioners.
“We don’t have to be in each other’s faces to talk,” she said. “This is particularly important if someone is coughing or sneezing.”
The Archdiocese of Washington gave a similar statement on Feb. 28, the Catholic Standard reported.
“Pastors may wish to remind their parishioners, in whatever manner is appropriate within Mass, no one is ever under an obligation to shake hands during the Sign of Peace (a statement of peace, bow or other gesture is appropriate) or to receive from the chalice,” according to the statement. “Christ is fully present in each species when the bread and wine have been consecrated into His Body and Blood.”
In the Midwest and Northeast
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland said there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio but recommended best practices on March 2 based on information provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Though not as severe as guidelines out west, the diocese urged liturgical staff to practice good hygiene and refrain from serving if they are sick and asked parishioners to frequently wash their hands and use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
They also urged sick parishioners stay home and those with sick family members to refrain from taking communion on the tongue or drinking from the chalice.
The Catholic Diocese of New Jersey issued “Hygiene Best Practices for Eucharist” on Feb. 25, which urged parishioners to fist bump, elbow bump, give a friendly wave or throw up a peace sign instead of hugging during the peace.
They also asked parishioners to avoid dipping the bread into the wine during communion but stopped short of asking they refrain from sipping wine from the chalice.
“There has never been much evidence of risk of disease associated with the shared communion cup, but of course each parishioner must make up their own minds about its use,” the guidelines state.
The Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois has issued similar requests and urged members to “err on the side of caution,” CBS reported.
In the Southeast
Catholic dioceses in some of the south’s largest metros — including Charleston, Atlanta and Charlotte — are asking churches to take preventative measures as the coronavirus arrives on the east coast.
WCSC reported the Diocese of Charleston sent a letter suspending “both the handshake of peace and distribution of the chalice during Mass.”
In Atlanta, where WSBTV reported more than one million practicing Catholics live, the archdiocese has suspended the communion of wine and has let pastors decide whether to include the peace in that suspension.
“You really have to think about those vulnerable populations,” Maureen Smith, spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta, told WSBTV.
The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte also wrote a letter urging clergy to take extra precautions on Feb. 28.
Reverend Peter J. Jugis, bishop of Charlotte, recommended following CDC guidelines to stop the spread of germs, including covering mouths when sneezing and coughing, cleaning “high touch” surfaces daily, avoiding shaking hands and refraining from sharing personal items.
He also encouraged a few stricter guidelines.
“I strongly encourage you not to extend the Sign of Peace, distribute Holy Communion from the chalice or otherwise invite people to extend a greeting at Mass or other gatherings,” the letter states.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 1:37 PM with the headline "No more wine, handshakes or hugs? Churches across the US react to the coronavirus."
