Our new moderator, Rev. Dr. Herb Gale, is coming to cut the anniversary cake at churches across Canada. But how friendly is the food at the church for this man with celiac disease who must eat gluten-free diets? Herb’s wife, Rev. Shirley Gale, knows of a couple, who regularly stay away from church on Communion Sundays because they can’t eat the bread.
Here are some ways to make your church food friendly:
Offer a choice. When serving Communion, offer gluten-free wafers in a separate, labeled small dish on the same larger plate as the regular Communion bread. This makes a congregation more inclusive of those with digestive disorders including celiac disease, wheat allergies and diabetes. Take note that spaghetti dinners are also off-limits to celiacs unless another option (such as rice pasta) is offered separately from the traditional wheat pasta.
Watch out for cross-contamination. This means you cannot throw all the leftovers from Communion into the same Ziplock bag for later. One crumb from the bread containing gluten can seriously harm the digestive tract of a celiac.
Hidden sources of gluten are everywhere: Potluck suppers and bar-b-ques can be wonderful times of food, fun and fellowship. But beware of some surprising sources of gluten. These include: Caesar salad dressing, hot dogs, deli meats, sausages, soy sauce, broth and soup bases. Just because something is labeled “Wheat-Free” doesn’t mean it is gluten free. Gluten is also found in barley and rye. Any product derived from these three main sources will also contain gluten. An easy idea is to label everything that contains gluten with a small picture of wheat.
We wish our new moderator a wonderful year of travelling the country and celebrating with congregations. We shouldn’t only invite him to cut the cake we should also have options so that he can actively enjoy dessert time as well. And those gluten free cake mixes you can buy in some stores, cut very small pieces of those: when you take out the gluten, the cake often feels as heavy as concrete!
