Am I Hurting Myself?

[LadyK]

I generally avoid all gluten, but once a month I take communion at church. A family friend who also has Celiac says I shouldn't even be eating the communion wafer. I don't know... the wafer is the size of my thumbnail, and it doesn't seen to give me any adverse effects. If so, they're minimal. Can eating that tiny wafer once a month really hurt me?

[NateJ]

Definitley. I've heard the longer you go the more sensitive you get. But each person's level of reation is different, so only you can tell if its good or bad.

[Adalaide]

You should definitely speak to someone at the church about a gluten free option. Many churches provide this and it may be offered in all sorts of ways depending on the church you attend.

 

Yes, you are hurting yourself. I'm not sure what faith you are, but if you are Catholic you also need to refrain from drinking from a communal cup since it is contaminated by all the wheat eaters.

[cyclinglady]

The church in the past has taken a pretty firm position about gluten-free wafers insisting that they must contain wheat!  Fortunately, they have finally approved two suppliers (nuns) who bake these.  I think you have to ask your priest and show proof of Celiac Disease and they should be able to accommodate you.

 

Any inflammation is bound to be bad.  I didn't have symptoms prior to my diagnosis and now not only do I have anemia, Marsh Stage 3B intestinal damage, but I fractured a vertebrae in my back for no reason at all (bone scan in two weeks).  So, I'd talk to your priest!

[IrishHeart]

yes.

ANY amount of gluten sparks the autoimmune response, hon--whether you feel it or not.

 

No Catholic church I know just provides them for you. (not sure if you are Catholic or not)

You'll have to order some from the Benedictine nuns.

 

Other denominations will allow rice cracker hosts (EnerG makes them)

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

I get my Mom these Vatican-approved wafers they make. She brings one to church in a pyx (little box specifically made for communion wafers) and

gives it to the priest before mass and he places it on the alter for consecration and she goes up and gets it at communion time.  No cross-contamination.  

 

She keeps them in the freezer. They suggest that.  I get her enough for 6 months at a time.

 

 

 

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here is what a pyx looks like.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

I got her one from amazon for @  $12.00.

[Monklady123]

But those "Vatican-approved" communion wafers are not gluten free, they're "low gluten". Which wouldn't be good enough for me. I suspect the OP isn't Catholic though since the Catholics have communion at every mass (unless the OP only goes to church once a month). Many mainline protestants (mine included, Presbyterian) only have it once a month.

 

For the OP -- if you are not Catholic then there are gluten free communion hosts, or perhaps you could use bread. You could either bring it with you, or have the church provide it. My church either does all gluten-free bread when we have communion passed through the pews on trays, or they have gluten-free wafers available when we come up front for real bread.

[notme]

i go to the United Methodist church and we use bread, so my pastor lets me bring my own bread.  i just bring it in a snack baggie and whip it out when they offer the bread and he blesses it just like the other bread  and we have tiny individual glasses for the 'wine' (juice)  which the lady who is in charge of purchasing buys the 'light' juice - contains aspartame or some artificial sweetener that makes me crazy........  i know how to solve this, though.  donate the juice!  i just keep forgetting.  duh.

[LadyK]

I'm a Baptist. Sorry I didn't mention that in my original post .

[Adalaide]

Oh that should be no big deal to go talk to the person in charge at your church and be able to bring your own bread/crackers/whatever and have it set aside safely at the beginning and blessed with the rest. At my church (Mormon, but lets face it, its all the same basic principle) we just keep crackers in the Bishop's office that are safe for the intolerances and allergies of everyone that has special dietary needs. They get enough out every Sunday morning and they go on a separate tray from the bread to prevent crumbs and the young man is careful not to touch the crackers after touching the bread.

 

Maybe you could just do something equally easy like bring a small pack of crackers they could keep there rather than having to remember to defrost and bring a slice of bread once a month.  I know if I had to remember to do that I would be toast. LOL

[notme]

 

Maybe you could just do something equally easy like bring a small pack of crackers they could keep there rather than having to remember to defrost and bring a slice of bread once a month.  I know if I had to remember to do that I would be toast. LOL

LOLZ!  

 

then i have visions of me trying to get my other shoe on, wrestling with the frozen bread to get the slices apart, (stuff is falling out of the freezer) breaking off a (way too big) hunk of it and jamming it in my pocket.  all this at a dead run hahahahaaa i am always late for church!  but, by the time they do communion, it's thawed     

[Adalaide]

LOLZ!  

 

then i have visions of me trying to get my other shoe on, wrestling with the frozen bread to get the slices apart, (stuff is falling out of the freezer) breaking off a (way too big) hunk of it and jamming it in my pocket.  all this at a dead run hahahahaaa i am always late for church!  but, by the time they do communion, it's thawed     

 

But is it still in your pocket?

[gabechevarrieta]

Yes!! Watch this video. Should explain the magnitude of how harmful ANY amount of gluten is.

[bellalunarena]

Yes!! Watch this video. Should explain the magnitude of how harmful ANY amount of gluten is.

Oh my god.

 

I need to show this to...lots of people. 

 

I don't go to church often, but when I do, it's a Unitarian church, but Mister's family are all like hardcore old school Italian Catholics.