Gluten Free Communion Wafers

[dianalynn1953]

Does anyone know where to obtain gluten free communion wafers? I understand that they are available. Please help me find out where. Thank you

[Donna F]

I don't know what denomination you are, so I'll tell you what I know.

You can get gluten-free communion wafers here:

Open Original Shared Link

But, if you are Catholic, there is only one kind that I know of that is made and it is the only one ACCEPTABLE for use for the consecration. They are made of wheat (as the Church says they HAVE to be) and are not gluten free, but have so little gluten in them that they are fine for Celiacs. I'm very sensitive and have no problem tolerating them. You can get them here:

Open Original Shared Link

or this way:

Altar Bread Dept., Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Clyde MO 64432, 1-800-223-2772.

There was a thread a while back about this and it was very good. You may find it here:

Open Original Shared Link

God bless!

-donna

[Guest barbara3675]

I am ELCA Lutheran and here is what I did. I took some of my little rice crackers, broke them in half and the pastor puts one of them in his dish so he can bless them with the rest of the wafers. Because they are a different shape and color, he can see that mine are different from the rest. It is working out nicely. I don't think the Catholic church is making other arrangements at this time. Low gluten is not gluten free and some people may accept it, but others cannot tolerate it all.

Barbara

[Donna F]

I am extremely sensitive to gluten and have no problem with the 'low gluten' hosts I get for mass. The ppm are so small that it is deemed safe for celiacs. Everyone gets some gluten into there system throughout the day. It's in the air you breath just from going into a grocery store. There is a 'safe' amount that can be had, be it a very minute amount.

There is only enough gluten in the hosts that the Benedictines make to be able to claim that it is still made from wheat (which it has to be - that is Church law ). The Church cannot, and will not allow gluten free hosts to be used for mass. The only other viable option would be to ask permission to drink from the chalice, but you would need a separate cup from the one that has intincture (a fragment of the host in it). I've done this too, and not had a problem. I make sure I'm one of the first to receive from the cup in case another woman is wearing lipstick (have to watch out for that too!)

One last thing, Barbara, I'm glad you haven't had a problem, but isn't placing the host in the plate with the other hosts contaminating yours? My postman's wife and son are Celiacs and said they cannot consume their hosts if the pastor puts them on the same plate. Maybe the bread they use at his service is crumblier?

I have my host consecrated in a pyx (a small vessel used to carry communion to the infirmed and homebound - can be bought in any Catholic goods store or at www.leafletmissal.com) so that it won't get contaminated, and after the sign of peace, I go up with the Eucharistic ministers to the alter to receive with them - that way the priest doesn't have to interrupt the line of communicants to go back for my pyx. This is probably the better way to receive from the cup too, unless they have a communal cup, but not all parishes do that.

(sorry so long! )

-donna

Blessings!

-d

[Guest barbara3675]

The other wafers are very smooth and hard and I don't think mine touching theirs causes contamination to any extent to be concerned about. At any rate, I attended at funeral recently and our pastor forgot to put my rice wafer in his dish and I used the wheat one, and I got along fine that day. I would not suggest this for my granddaughter, who has celiac disease, but I have the lesser----a gluten sensitivity, so I just went with it that day.

Barbara

[mriggs]

Just to let you know, my 11-year-old daughter has Celiac Disease (confirmed by a biopsy) and is not having any symptoms from the .01% gluten in the Communion host that the Benedictine Sisters have made. Her doctor even thought it would be okay. In fact, we just realized that we can break the host in half and further reduce the low percentage of gluten. A blood test down the road will tell, I'm sure. Good luck to all on this personal subject. I've stopped crying!!

Of course, I know Ener-G makes a popular rice communion host too!

[nettiebeads]

I use the rice crackers. I'm Lutheran (MO synod) and give mine to the elder who puts it in the tray right before I come up for communion. I haven't had a cross contamination issue because the regular wafers are more like styrofoam and have a hard finish, so it doesn't seem to bother me. But the regular wafers will set off a definite gluten reaction for me.

[skoki-mom]

WOW!!!

I didn't know there was such a thing! I will definitely check it out. I've been in church twice since I was dx 3 weeks ago and it is breaking my heart that I can't participate. I just went to the rail and kept my hands folded, and cried while the minister gave me a blessing, then took the wine.

Once our church (Anglican) gets a new minister, I will meet with him/her to talk about this for me and my sister. My poor sister still can't have wine or grape juice due to a sulphite allergy, but it would be so wonderful to take Communion again!

[kvogt]

There is only enough gluten in the hosts that the Benedictines make to be able to claim that it is still made from wheat (which it has to be - that is Church law  ). The Church cannot, and will not allow gluten free hosts to be used for mass.

Actually, it's not about being "able to claim that it is still made of wheat".

The alter bread "must contain gluten sufficient for the convection of bread" which means able to make bread that holds together. It must be made from wheat as is found in church Tradition.

I read it took the Benedictine sisters 10 years to work out how to do it Thank you sisters for your patience!

[celiac3270]

I was always skeptical of the low-gluten hosts, basically for their name. Low-gluten sounds terrible to a celiac. Now, while I still cannot get beyond the name despite some newly found information, I've read a little more into it: the low-gluten hosts could actually be called gluten-free because they contain so little that it's nearly undetectable...and basically, going by their definition, very little would actually be entirely GLUTEN-FREE. The reason it is called low-gluten, which may frighten the celiacs, is because the Church does not allow that it be specifically called Gluten-Free, since it's supposed to contain some gluten, which would, by default, make it "low gluten."

Wow...that's amazing! Ten years?

[linlindy]

After a year of not receiving Communion at Church (Catholic), I am investigating options for acquiring hosts for church. Can anyone who is a gluten-free catholic living in Chicago area let me know where you go to church to receive Communion.

Thank you.