Faith versus flu

Yesterday, the act of sharing the chalice of wine will have been absent from many Anglican Holy Communion services following instructions from the archbishops of Canterbury and York to withdraw it temporarily.

At face value this might seem a sensible precaution in light of fears that sharing the communal cup could engender the spread of swine flu. At worst it was a bit of an over-reaction, given that during the plague years there didn’t seem to be a need to alter the distribution.

Times article

But there are two aspects of this that rankle.

First of all, the decision on whether or not to participate in sharing the wine has been taken away from the individual. One institution, the Department of Health, has advised another, the Church of England, not to share "common vessels" for food or drink. No-one has thought to give the communicant the choice -- which would seem grossly unfair on at least two counts.

For a start, the same worshipper can step from church and into a tube train. Why is that not equally proscribed, given that there would seem to be at least as much opportunity to catch the disease this way, as from sharing a drink with strangers?

Beyond this issue of common sense, you then have to ask where the individual's ability to show, and act in, faith is.

Scale this up and it becomes the second aspect of the edict that annoys me. It seems that the central ritual of becoming one with Christ and the affirmation of a belief in God has been demoted. It is of lesser importance than the recommendations of government scientists and advisors. Once again in an echo of the Age of Enlightenment, reason has triumphed over faith.

What is upsetting is that the custodians of the faith do not seem to have understood how their actions now undermine their belief system. They were in a position to inform the congregation of the dangers, particularly to pregnant women and those with existing health issues, but then could have left it up to the people to decide if they wished to take the risk.

When Princess Diana shook hands with Aids victims in the eighties, it sent shock waves through the world. No matter that she was highly unlikely to contract the condition through such contact -- it was still an act of faith and a demonstration of compassion that was much needed to alleviate misinformation and prejudice at the time. John Gummer fed his daughter a beef-burger at the height of the mad cow disease scare. He was pilloried for doing so (well, he should have eaten it himself) but again the risks taken were minimal yet a message was needed to avert panic on the streets.

Where is the Church's act of faith now? Where is that photo of an archbishop sharing the communal cup with his flock, safe in the belief that his life is in the hands of God – and not the Department of Health?