How Do You Feel About...Prefilled Communion Cups?

[*anj*]

I do believe I've seen it all now. Individually packaged cups of grape juice and each one has a little wafer enclosed too. Perfect for camping and outdoor events!

 

I guess I didn't realize it was so difficult to fill little cups and break up a matzoh. Okay, I'm done now. Please opine.

[Carol in Cal.]

in my view, it's not really the Eucharist without wine. However, that is a minority view in Lutheranism right now, and a few servings of grape juice are often available for those who prefer it.

 

Also, I prefer the chalice to individual cups--more like the original, and it demonstrates the unity of the Body of Christ better.

 

But, oh my goodness. Prefilled, AND individual, AND grape juice--that is weird beyond belief. Don't COME at me with that thing, I am so not taking it!

[Alenee]

This seems a little...hmmm...weird. *shaking my head* hmmm....:confused:

[3lilreds in NC]

If *I* were in charge of communion, I would think they were wonderful! I would be the one always running late, trying to fill the silly communion cups hurriedly and probably thinking some very un-Christlike thoughts in the process. :D

[Brigitte]

Okay, that seems a bit odd. Of course, I thought it was odd that the Lutherans drink the wine in what looks like thimbles. Each person getting his own. Dh just attended his first ever Catholic Mass and was astounded by the fact that the Catholics still use a common cup.

[Brigitte]

If *I* were in charge of communion, I would think they were wonderful! I would be the one always running late, trying to fill the silly communion cups hurriedly and probably thinking some very un-Christlike thoughts in the process. :D

 

:lol:

[OnTheBrink]

As a communion cup filler, I think these are great! I sent my pastor the link to the site. We'll see if it flies with the elder board. LOL

[sdWTMer]

My parents' church uses those for those that are in the hospital and such. It's okay.

[*anj*]

Dh just attended his first ever Catholic Mass and was astounded by the fact that the Catholics still use a common cup.

 

Ummm yeah. That's a whole 'nother kettle o'fish. At this point in my life I have zero interest in sharing a common cup with a whole church full of people.

[Tracey in TX]

ROFL Guess Communion is even capable of being prepackaged like the 100 calories snacks. Who knew?

I wouldn't be too thrilled if our Church opted for this, but like another poster, we use wine for communion and that probably wouldn't be allowed in toddler-sized portions! (note the laughter through this post?:lol:)

[Peek a Boo]

in my view, it's not really the Eucharist without wine. However, that is a minority view in Lutheranism right now, and a few servings of grape juice are often available for those who prefer it.

 

Also, I prefer the chalice to individual cups--more like the original, and it demonstrates the unity of the Body of Christ better.

 

But, oh my goodness. Prefilled, AND individual, AND grape juice--that is weird beyond belief. Don't COME at me with that thing, I am so not taking it!

 

 

oh, i dunno.... i tend to feel it's not really the Eucharist w/o real grape juice ;)

 

I do prefer the chalice for the same reason tho. we use that for family communion.

 

BUT-- I think it would be AWESOME for a pastor to have a few of these on hand in travels: you never know when you'll run into someone who could really find comfort in communion.

[JudoMom]

Ummm yeah. That's a whole 'nother kettle o'fish. At this point in my life I have zero interest in sharing a common cup with a whole church full of people.

 

:lol: I don't even like sharing my water with the people I gave birth to (or my dh, if you want to know the whole truth).

[3lilreds in NC]

Ummm yeah. That's a whole 'nother kettle o'fish. At this point in my life I have zero interest in sharing a common cup with a whole church full of people.

 

Oh, come on! Where's your sense of adventure? Don't they use a little cloth to wipe the edge of the cup after each sip? Doesn't that make you feel safe and germ-free? :lol:

 

When we lived in MI we went to church at the Univ. Lutheran Chapel in Ann Arbor for a while (dh went there during college). The pastor there was so funny. He had wine and grape juice (you never know who might be struggling with alcohol abuse, so he didn't want to pose a temptation to anyone), bread and wafers, community chalice and individual cups. He wanted anyone who came in to take communion to be comfortable, and not put off that they couldn't take communion in the manner to which they were accustomed. I thought that was very nice. Excessive, but nice.

[Jami]

in my view, it's not really the Eucharist without wine. However, that is a minority view in Lutheranism right now, and a few servings of grape juice are often available for those who prefer it.

 

Also, I prefer the chalice to individual cups--more like the original, and it demonstrates the unity of the Body of Christ better.

 

But, oh my goodness. Prefilled, AND individual, AND grape juice--that is weird beyond belief. Don't COME at me with that thing, I am so not taking it!

 

 

This Presbyterian agrees with you completely, Carol. :001_smile:

[Spy Car]

in my view, it's not really the Eucharist without wine. However, that is a minority view in Lutheranism right now, and a few servings of grape juice are often available for those who prefer it.

 

Also, I prefer the chalice to individual cups--more like the original, and it demonstrates the unity of the Body of Christ better.

 

But, oh my goodness. Prefilled, AND individual, AND grape juice--that is weird beyond belief. Don't COME at me with that thing, I am so not taking it!

 

:iagree: Not sure I deserve a vote, but, uh, "efficiency" is not a positive value when in comes to Holy Communion/Eucharist in my view. I'd feel like it was less than fully reverential. I don't want to judge, but I'd be :confused:

 

Bill

[Jumping In Puddles]

Okay, that seems a bit odd. Of course, I thought it was odd that the Lutherans drink the wine in what looks like thimbles. Each person getting his own. Dh just attended his first ever Catholic Mass and was astounded by the fact that the Catholics still use a common cup.

 

I didn't know that the common cup was not common! I just assumed that was the way communion was taken.

[Peek a Boo]

Okay, that seems a bit odd. Of course, I thought it was odd that the Lutherans drink the wine in what looks like thimbles. Each person getting his own. Dh just attended his first ever Catholic Mass and was astounded by the fact that the Catholics still use a common cup.

 

The LCMS we sometimes attend offers all of the options: individual grap juice/ wine and chalice w/ wine.

 

and speaking of irreverential, here's a couple funnies for you:

 

1. while we were at a thrift store, a friend of mine hollered for me to 'check out all these little shot glasses!"

--yup. a gallon size ziploc bag of glass communion cups. hey- she was close!

 

2. dh has to really suppress the urge to add after the Words of Institution...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This Blood's For You."

[elegantlion]

We do communion with grape juice. I can see the value in the prepackaged, but in the end I wonder if it is a good financial value for the church.

[Chris in VA]

We use the common cup, but folks can take Communion by dipping the host into the cup (intinction) or by takin' a big ol' swig--I mean, taking a polite sip...(guess which I prefer? :lol:)

 

Hey, here's two funny Communion stories--straight from the Priest's Wife (that'd be me...)

 

Nancy Reagan once took Ronnie to her church. He was concerned, because he knew there'd be lots of unfamiliar ritual in the service, so she said, "It's ok, just do what I do."

So, when she knelt, he knelt. When she stood up for a hymn, he stood up. Things were going fine. Then it was time for Communion. Nancy walks to the altar rail, Ronnie follows. She kneels, he kneels. She accepts the host in cupped hands, he accepts the host in cupped hands. As the cup comes to her, she picks up her host to dip it into the wine, and accidentally drops it into the cup. Not missing a beat, Ronnie drops his in, too! :D

True story.

 

Second story--

 

Dh was co-celebrant at his old roommate's wedding. The couple was with dh and the other priest, discussing whether to have Communion as part of the wedding ceremony. Other Priest tells dh, "By the way, tho' we normally use grape juice for Communion, we just use water for weddings, so that any spills won't stain the Bride's dress."

Dh replies,

 

"I'm good, but I'm not THAT good!" :lol::lol:

 

 

(get it? He can't turn water into wine...)

[Chris in VA]

Oh, I have another!

 

One of my favorite Kids Say the Darndest Things moments--

 

After leaving the altar rail and Communion, one of our small boys wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and exclaims,

 

"Boy, I sure do love that Cup O' Salvation!"

 

His mom turned a hundred shades of red. We did, too, from laughing!

[Lorna in the boonies]

My dh (a pastor) uses them for hospital visitations, but that's all.

[Sharon in SC]

I can see it cutting down on waste. Really, as long as people are partaking in the communion and doing it for the right reasons, I dont care if the juice (yes we use juice) was just poured or prepackaged. It is the intent that counts.

 

:iagree:

[Jugglin'5]

Yep....this one too.

 

This Presbyterian agrees with you completely, Carol. :001_smile:

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Okay, that seems a bit odd. Of course, I thought it was odd that the Lutherans drink the wine in what looks like thimbles. Each person getting his own. Dh just attended his first ever Catholic Mass and was astounded by the fact that the Catholics still use a common cup.

 

:iagree: Growing up S. Baptist, we had individual thimbles of grape juice, passed out to the congregation while they were seated. Now, we go to a Methodist church. The congregation goes to the front and receives a chunk of bread which they then dip in the juice chalice. No spit swapping or tiny cups there.

[*anj*]

Oh, come on! Where's your sense of adventure? Don't they use a little cloth to wipe the edge of the cup after each sip? Doesn't that make you feel safe and germ-free? :lol:

 

Ummm, no.

 

I served as a Eucharistic minister when I was Catholic. I'll just say that it is not a job for the squeamish. And I know you're joking, but yikes! Who washes their dishes with a dry cloth napkin?

 

I wonder if they'd be allowed to start using a cloth that had been treated with some kind of antibacterial agent? That would sort of help, but not entirely.

 

The Orthodox dip the communion bread into the wine before giving it to each person. That at least eliminates the germ problem, though I do understand that there is a theological reason for it.

[Mrs Mungo]

I do believe I've seen it all now. Individually packaged cups of grape juice and each one has a little wafer enclosed too. Perfect for camping and outdoor events!

 

I guess I didn't realize it was so difficult to fill little cups and break up a matzoh. Okay, I'm done now. Please opine.

 

The church we attended before our move used these. However, the church had around 5,000 members. That's *members*, not attendees. There were 3 services and they often overflowed. I can imagine it would have taken several hours to fill enough cups to serve everyone.

[*anj*]

:iagree: Not sure I deserve a vote, but, uh, "efficiency" is not a positive value when in comes to Holy Communion/Eucharist in my view. I'd feel like it was less than fully reverential. I don't want to judge, but I'd be :confused:

 

Bill

 

Of course you deserve a vote, why not?

I happen to agree with you about efficiency in communion. I think that you'd lose a bit of the sanctity of it when you rip that little piece of foil off the top, wouldn't you?

 

Oh, and I know that some of you don't believe in grape juice for communion. My point wasn't that it's grape juice, my point was that it's the same kind of little cup that tartar sauce comes in and that would just feel weird to me. And awkward. Soooo, what if your church started using those little cups but they were filled with wine? What about that? ;)

[sdWTMer]

Of course you deserve a vote, why not?

I happen to agree with you about efficiency in communion. I think that you'd lose a bit of the sanctity of it when you rip that little piece of foil off the top, wouldn't you?

 

Oh, and I know that some of you don't believe in grape juice for communion. My point wasn't that it's grape juice, my point was that it's the same kind of little cup that tartar sauce comes in and that would just feel weird to me. And awkward. Soooo, what if your church started using those little cups but they were filled with wine? What about that? ;)

 

Well, I've done it one time, and I would hope that it would be more of the reverence that I gave to it. Lord willing, I have the proper mind every time regardless of what I drank it out of. My two cents.

[*anj*]

Other Priest tells dh, "By the way, tho' we normally use grape juice for Communion, we just use water for weddings, so that any spills won't stain the Bride's dress."

Dh replies,

 

"I'm good, but I'm not THAT good!" :lol::lol:

 

 

(get it? He can't turn water into wine...)

 

I get it. That's very funny! :lol:

 

Btw..."we just use water?" :001_huh: What's up with that? What about white wine or white grape juice? Water? Why not milk then? Yikes.

[Jenny in Atl]

Ummm yeah. That's a whole 'nother kettle o'fish. At this point in my life I have zero interest in sharing a common cup with a whole church full of people.

 

For me it's not the same thing w/o sharing the wine. I miss that most.

[3lilreds in NC]

Ummm, no.

 

I wonder if they'd be allowed to start using a cloth that had been treated with some kind of antibacterial agent? That would sort of help, but not entirely.

 

Mmmmm.... Nothing says "sanctified" like antibacterial wipe juice along with your wine. :lol:

[Sharon in SC]

The church we attended before our move used these. However, the church had around 5,000 members. That's *members*, not attendees. There were 3 services and they often overflowed. I can imagine it would have taken several hours to fill enough cups to serve everyone.

 

 

Yes. Our church is large and we have used the pre-packaged units for this very reason.

[*anj*]

The church we attended before our move used these. However, the church had around 5,000 members. That's *members*, not attendees. There were 3 services and they often overflowed. I can imagine it would have taken several hours to fill enough cups to serve everyone.

 

Well, I suppose. But have you seen any of the nifty little gadgets they have for filling those teeny cups? You can do a whole tray in a really short time. But I do see what you mean. I don't think it's wrong or whatever, I'd just prefer not to.

[chiguirre]

I can't really picture a stack of 500 of those little cups on the altar with the priest praying over them.

 

Well, okay I can, but the mental image makes me :lol:.

 

 

And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't fit in the tabernacle in our parish. But, I'm guessing they don't have a large Catholic market.

[*anj*]

Mmmmm.... Nothing says "sanctified" like antibacterial wipe juice along with your wine. :lol:

Well I guess that's the benefit of using wine instead of grape juice. You've got the alcohol right there. How many germs can there be? ;)

[*anj*]

I can't really picture a stack of 500 of those little cups on the altar with the priest praying over them.

 

Well, okay I can, but the mental image makes me :lol:.

 

 

And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't fit in the tabernacle in our parish. But, I'm guessing they don't have a large Catholic market.

 

Well, no. And they wouldn't work theologically either because you have to have the comingling of the bread and the wine. You know how the priest breaks off a little piece and then sprinkles it into the chalice? It represents the idea of the body and blood being two parts of a whole. So I don't think that they'd be allowed to do it that way.

There is also some kind of rule about the vessel in which it can be held, and I doubt that plastic would be okay. :D

[Melora in NC]

I didn't know that the common cup was not common! I just assumed that was the way communion was taken.

 

I didn't either! We recently moved to a predominantly Baptist corner of North Carolina, and I was surprised to learn about grape juice at Communion. Those prefilled cups just seem wrong on so many levels to me! (But my dh does always have us sit near the front of the church specifically so that we will be among the first to take Communion, before the chalice is "germy" (his word). He also has us dip our wafers, rather than sip from the chalice.)

[Heather in Neverland]

Wine vs. grape juice makes no difference to me. But there is no way I am drinking out of a common cup with 200 other germ-laden people. Didn't I hear somewhere that your mouth is the germiest spot on your whole body? Even my dentist wears surgical gloves and he is in the mouth business for goodness sake! :D

 

Now those little prefilled things...hmmmm...I don't know....the jury is still out.

[Jackie in AR]

At this point in my life I have zero interest in sharing a common cup with a whole church full of people.

 

Amen, sister!

[abbeyej]

Wow. I find that seriously disturbing.

[OnTheBrink]

Well, I suppose. But have you seen any of the nifty little gadgets they have for filling those teeny cups? You can do a whole tray in a really short time. But I do see what you mean. I don't think it's wrong or whatever, I'd just prefer not to.

 

I've used that, but it's messy. Instead, I use this:

 

No drips at all. I can whip through 12 communion cup trays in no time!

[mommaduck]

hmm...no go here. And especially no go on the fact that it's not wine. Most of the reasons have already been stated.

[HomeOnTheRanch]

I do believe I've seen it all now. Individually packaged cups of grape juice and each one has a little wafer enclosed too. Perfect for camping and outdoor events!

 

I guess I didn't realize it was so difficult to fill little cups and break up a matzoh. Okay, I'm done now. Please opine.

 

We have about 30-40 people at church on communion weeks (about 4x/year). DH takes communion to the shut-ins in the afternoon. In our church there are usually about 5-6. I've seen those pre-filled ones, but DH just has a little kit that contains a small bottle of juice, container of bread pieces, and empty cups. He fills at the home. I think it adds to the service to have him pour it just before handing it to the person.

 

Of course, they are filled beforehand at church. I had that duty once, and I was blessed by doing that service and contemplating the meaning.

[*anj*]

 

No drips at all. I can whip through 12 communion cup trays in no time!

 

Ahhh! That's the one they used at my old church. I love that thing! :001_smile:

[Melora in NC]

Of course you deserve a vote, why not?

I happen to agree with you about efficiency in communion. I think that you'd lose a bit of the sanctity of it when you rip that little piece of foil off the top, wouldn't you?

 

Oh, and I know that some of you don't believe in grape juice for communion. My point wasn't that it's grape juice, my point was that it's the same kind of little cup that tartar sauce comes in and that would just feel weird to me. And awkward. Soooo, what if your church started using those little cups but they were filled with wine? What about that? ;)

 

Plus, imagine the mess as everyone came up, knelt at the altar rail, received their little communion packet, peeled off the top, and then looked around for a place to discard the cup and top. I guess there would be trash cans that people could toss the wrappings into on their way back to their pew?

I guess I'm being silly, but I've never been to a church where a common cup wasn't used, and I can't quite picture how it would work. It seems like taking communion would lose a certain amount of reverence if everyone was being handed a plastic cup which, as you say, looks like a fast food condiment container. Also, the priest would look a little, well, foolish, waving around little plastic cups instead of breaking the bread and raising the cup. I can't quite picture those prefilled cups taking off in the Episcopal church, but maybe I shouldn't speak too fast!

[Mrs Mungo]

Plus, imagine the mess as everyone came up, knelt at the altar rail, received their little communion packet, peeled off the top, and then looked around for a place to discard the cup and top. I guess there would be trash cans that people could toss the wrappings into on their way back to their pew?

 

Many Protestant/Pentecostal churches pass around cups and wafers in trays. They aren't usually handed out by the pastor. People don't go up front. This was true even of the church I attended as a child. In these churches there is usually a receptacle of some kind on the back of the pew/chair in front of you that holds the cup when everyone is finished. Some churches gather them up after the service and some have baskets/a table at the door where you leave it after the service.

 

I guess I'm a little surprised at the number of people who have only been to one type of church. I've been to *so* many churches for so many different reasons.

 

When I've been to churches with a common cup (mostly for weddings or funerals) I always dip.

[Melora in NC]

Many Protestant/Pentecostal churches pass around cups and wafers in trays. They aren't usually handed out by the pastor. People don't go up front. This was true even of the church I attended as a child. In these churches there is usually a receptacle of some kind on the back of the pew/chair in front of you that holds the cup when everyone is finished. Some churches gather them up after the service and some have baskets/a table at the door where you leave it after the service.

 

I guess I'm a little surprised at the number of people who have only been to one type of church. I've been to *so* many churches for so many different reasons.

 

When I've been to churches with a common cup (mostly for weddings or funerals) I always dip.

 

Okay. Well, I see how that would work.

 

I actually have been to a Baptist church and to a Presbyterian church, one time each. But neither one celebrated the Eucharist the Sunday we were there. One of the things I really appreciate about this board is that I learn how other people do things! (All of our homeschooling friends attend Baptist or similar style churches, but how they handle Communion has never come up in our conversations.)

[Danestress]

I wouldn't feel good about that at all.

 

We celebrate communion every week, and yes, from a common chalise. I guess that's sort of gross if you really think about it. But I find it easier to "swallow" than pre-filled cups.

[Starr]

Dh, the priest, wants to know if it comes pre-consecrated? :)

[*anj*]

Dh, the priest, wants to know if it comes pre-consecrated? :)

 

If it did, he'd be plumb out of a job, wouldn't he? ;) :lol: