Host served with chopsticks

A Church of England vicar is using chopsticks to distribute the host to parishioners during Holy Communion to adhere to Covid19 safety protocols.

Reverend Eileen Harrop, The vicar of St Mary’s in Gainford and St Andrew’s in Winston, County Durham in North East England, decided that the best way to administer the Eucharist was to use extra-long chopsticks.

Reverend Harrop took inspiration from her Chinese heritage, she also grew up in Singapore and has an enduring love of Asian cuisine, so felt confident to use the chopsticks.

She has now carried out services using those at both churches she serves.

“Many of my parishioners were quite anxious at the thought of taking communion, even though we are only permitted to do so under strict guidelines to ensure that there is no chance of transmission of the virus. I thought, ‘Why can’t I use a long pair of chopsticks, real bread rather than wafers, and drop it into the communicants’ hands?’’”, she said.

The current Church of England Covid-19 advice for Holy Communion states that communicants should be offered only bread, not wine, as there should be no “common cup”.

(With inputs from PA Wire)