SARS Letter
April 17, 2003
Bishop Michael J. Pryse

EASTERN SYNOD of the Evangelical   Lutheran   Church  in Canada
74 Weber Street West , Kitchener , ON   N2H 3Z3
Phone (519) 743-1461     Fax (519) 743-4291   Toll Free 1-877-373-5242

April 17, 2003

Dear Colleagues:

In light of the current public health anxieties regarding the transmission of SARS, Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, I would like to re-iterate the suggestions provided in my e-mail correspondence of April 4. Specifically:

·        Clergy and assisting ministers should wash their hands before distributing eucharistic elements. This should be done following the exchange of the peace, either in the sacristy or by using a basin that has been placed on a credence table for this purpose.

·        Altar Guild members should be reminded of the need to wash all eucharistic vessels in soap and hot water after the eucharist.

·        Eucharistic ministers should be trained to wipe inside and outside the rim and rotate the chalice between communicants.

·        Communicants who express anxieties about receiving the wine should be advised that it is quite acceptable to receive communion under one kind only and that they should feel comfortable in receiving the bread alone.

Many people are anxious. As such, we will need to walk the delicate line between responding to those concerns as is appropriate in your own context, without further and unduly increasing those anxieties. What is pastorally appropriate in Toronto , for instance, might be quite different from that which would be the case in Williamsburg or Eganville.

Should you deem it appropriate to make any formal announcements concerning this issue, I would suggest that you consider doing so by using these or similar words:

Dear friends,

In light of the current public health anxieties regarding the transmission of SARS, Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, I would like you to know that the Eastern Synod continues to monitor and reflect upon the current situation vis a vis the transmission of SARS, particularly as it impacts the worship practices of our congregations.

Given the present situation, I would suggest that worshippers follow the same hygienically responsible practices that should ordinarily govern our participation in public worship events.

Persons who are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms should stay home when feeling unwell and should refrain from any person to person contact until all symptoms have ceased. When attending worship, this would mean communing by receiving only the bread and by sharing the exchange of peace using a bow, nod or smile rather than with a handshake or an embrace.

Our best medical advice tells us that the common cup, when properly administered, continues to be the most hygienically sound means of receiving the eucharistic wine.

Parishes which use individual glasses for communion should also ensure that good hygienic practices are followed by all persons who handle those glasses both before and after worship.

Parishes which practice communion by intinction should remind worshippers to take great care in ensuring that their hands are clean prior to communing and that fingers are not inadvertently dipped into the wine.

Persons who are anxious about receiving the eucharistic wine, regardless of the means of reception, should be reminded that it is entirely legitimate and appropriate to commune by receiving the bread only.

My hope and prayer for you, as for myself, is that our appropriate concern for the public well-being does not diminish our full and enthusiastic participation in the wondrous liturgies of this special season. Please continue to pray for those who are presently suffering from this disease, those who are providing care for them, for the quarantined and for those who are searching for its cause and an effective remedy.

May God grant us all a blessed and restorative celebration of the Great Three Days!  

Bishop Michael J Pryse