A Church of England vicar has tapped in to her Chinese cultural heritage and is using chopsticks to give bread to parishioners during Holy Communion.
The Rev Eileen Harrop took the unusual approach to the challenge faced by clergy who are reopening churches for public worship while sticking to Covid-19 safety protocols. 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 bread at the Eucharist was to use extra-long serving chopsticks.
She has Chinese heritage, grew up in Singapore and has an enduring love of Asian cuisine, so felt confident in using the utensils for the sacred act and has now carried out services using them at both churches she serves.
Rev Harrop said: “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?”