Holy Communion line-what would you do?

[Jamie_Burns]

I would like to hear opinions about what you all think I should do in this situation.

 I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and at our parish's two busiest Sunday Holy Masses we station EMHC for both species to serve the many faithful who worship in the Narthex of our church (the large "gathering" space between the outside doors and the doors into the Nave [main worship space] of the Church).   Many of the worshippers out there are "regulars" so as Holy Communion is starting, they form into one Communion line, and the EMHC serve them at the door between Narthex and Nave.
  When I have served as an EMHC at that station, a couple of elderly parishioners from the back pews in the Nave present themselves from the side, and by their body language make clear they want to receive the Blessed Sacrament first.  In effect they are "cutting" the Holy Communion line.
   To me this seems disrespectful of those who have "queued up", but I know they would not like to stand there to the side waiting for the Narthex line (as many as 50 communicants sometimes) to finish.
   At our parish the Ushers and EMHC do team up to be sure that anyone with mobility issues is brought Communion under both species at their pew, so if they were infirm they don't have any impediment to receiving.

What would you do?
Turn to the side and serve them first?
Wait until there is a break in the line (there usually isn’t) and serve them then?
Make them wait until the line is finished and then turn to minister the Sacrament to them?

 

[jcrichton]

I would like to hear opinions about what you all think I should do in this situation.

 I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and at our parish's two busiest Sunday Holy Masses we station EMHC for both species to serve the many faithful who worship in the Narthex of our church (the large "gathering" space between the outside doors and the doors into the Nave [main worship space] of the Church).   Many of the worshippers out there are "regulars" so as Holy Communion is starting, they form into one Communion line, and the EMHC serve them at the door between Narthex and Nave.
  When I have served as an EMHC at that station, a couple of elderly parishioners from the back pews in the Nave present themselves from the side, and by their body language make clear they want to receive the Blessed Sacrament first.  In effect they are "cutting" the Holy Communion line.
   To me this seems disrespectful of those who have "queued up", but I know they would not like to stand there to the side waiting for the Narthex line (as many as 50 communicants sometimes) to finish.
   At our parish the Ushers and EMHC do team up to be sure that anyone with mobility issues is brought Communion under both species at their pew, so if they were infirm they don't have any impediment to receiving.

What would you do?
Turn to the side and serve them first?
Wait until there is a break in the line (there usually isn’t) and serve them then?
Make them wait until the line is finished and then turn to minister the Sacrament to them?

Hi, Jamie!

I think that the best way to resolve that is to speak to them directly; assure them that, if they remain seated, they will receive the Holy Eucharist from you (or another EMHC) once you have tended to the parishioners at the Narthex.

Now, for this idea to work you must establish that particular routine, by organizing the effort with the parish’s Rector, the elderly parishioners, the Ushers and the other EMHC.

…other than that, ask them to sit together so that the EMHC could tend to them before arriving at the Narthex.

…if all fails… well, they should just walk to the Altar to receive the species!

Merry Christmas!
Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Wesrock]

Your priest is ultimately in charge of pastoral care. I’d speak to him first. You could inquire in a non-confrontational manner with the couple, then speak to the priest about their concerns before taking any action. It may be a misunderstanding of some sort.

 

[Jennifoo]

Your priest is ultimately in charge of pastoral care. I’d speak to him first. You could inquire in a non-confrontational manner with the couple, then speak to the priest about their concerns before taking any action. It may be a misunderstanding of some sort.

Spot on. I think situations like these are always best handled by the pastor. Several years ago I was an EMHC at my former parish, and our pastor had a strict rule about relating any questions or concerns back to him.

God bless you.

 

[tawny]

Your priest is ultimately in charge of pastoral care. I’d speak to him first. You could inquire in a non-confrontational manner with the couple, then speak to the priest about their concerns before taking any action. It may be a misunderstanding of some sort.

Exactly, speak to the Priest who is in charge of the EMHC.

 

[nodito]

At most churches I’ve been to, if there are two lines and only one minister, the EHMC will sort of stand to the middle and rotate between the two lines. Line A, line B, line A, line B, etc. If there are only a few elderly people, I’d probably serve them first. And if the normal line is mostly regulars, everyone should understand.

 

[Corki]

There are no “rules” about Communion lines. In other countries (and sometimes in predominantly Hispanic parishes in the US), there is no orderly, row-by-row movement. Each person that wishes to proceed just moves toward the altar. Eventually, this group forms into lines directly in front of the person distributing Communion.

If they are standing there before you reach your “spot”, give them Communion and then turn to the line. If not, just work them in. No need to try to control the situation.

 

[jcrichton]

There are no “rules” about Communion lines. In other countries (and sometimes in predominantly Hispanic parishes in the US), there is no orderly, row-by-row movement. Each person that wishes to proceed just moves toward the altar. Eventually, this group forms into lines directly in front of the person distributing Communion.

If they are standing there before you reach your “spot”, give them Communion and then turn to the line. If not, just work them in. No need to try to control the situation.

Hi, Corki!

…I usually do not read past the post text… but I somehow glanced down on your post and read all of the quotes… I commend you for not only Standing for the Faith but for issuing a response to any misunderstanding of your tenet.

Merry Christmas!
Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Reuben_J]

I would like to hear opinions about what you all think I should do in this situation.

 I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and at our parish's two busiest Sunday Holy Masses we station EMHC for both species to serve the many faithful who worship in the Narthex of our church (the large "gathering" space between the outside doors and the doors into the Nave [main worship space] of the Church).   Many of the worshippers out there are "regulars" so as Holy Communion is starting, they form into one Communion line, and the EMHC serve them at the door between Narthex and Nave.
  When I have served as an EMHC at that station, a couple of elderly parishioners from the back pews in the Nave present themselves from the side, and by their body language make clear they want to receive the Blessed Sacrament first.  In effect they are "cutting" the Holy Communion line.
   To me this seems disrespectful of those who have "queued up", but I know they would not like to stand there to the side waiting for the Narthex line (as many as 50 communicants sometimes) to finish.
   At our parish the Ushers and EMHC do team up to be sure that anyone with mobility issues is brought Communion under both species at their pew, so if they were infirm they don't have any impediment to receiving.

What would you do?
Turn to the side and serve them first?
Wait until there is a break in the line (there usually isn’t) and serve them then?
Make them wait until the line is finished and then turn to minister the Sacrament to them?

Yeah, do you are in dilemma there. Turning to them to serve them would be jumping the queue and that that would encourage disorder if others would be encouraged to do the same by the example you accorded to them. Of course we are a church, strict discipline to queuing may be overlooked, but if you have a big cathedral, you may want order to take place for the smooth running of the Communion.

I don’t know. For me, it would be depending on my on the spot judgement and they are not always good. Perhaps I would just serve them anyway.

In my place this scenario does not happen as ushers would be assisting the EHMCs in each station. In fact after receiving the ciboriums from Father, and we know our station before hand, as we approach it the usher would point to us where we should stand, and he will be with each EHMC throughout the Communion directing and beckoning traffic to where to go.

Ours is a big cathedral, we have some 16 Communion stations (which include upstair), so you can imagine the logistic. But the ushers are excellent about it and despite the great number of communicants, it is always efficient and fast.

We have front pews for the senior parishioners and those who are infirm or in wheelchairs. An ECHMs serving this station would be directed by the ushers to give them first before going to his station to distribute Communion to the rest of the pews.

 

[JanetF]

I would like to hear opinions about what you all think I should do in this situation.

 I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and at our parish's two busiest Sunday Holy Masses we station EMHC for both species to serve the many faithful who worship in the Narthex of our church (the large "gathering" space between the outside doors and the doors into the Nave [main worship space] of the Church).   Many of the worshippers out there are "regulars" so as Holy Communion is starting, they form into one Communion line, and the EMHC serve them at the door between Narthex and Nave.
  When I have served as an EMHC at that station, a couple of elderly parishioners from the back pews in the Nave present themselves from the side, and by their body language make clear they want to receive the Blessed Sacrament first.  In effect they are "cutting" the Holy Communion line.
   To me this seems disrespectful of those who have "queued up", but I know they would not like to stand there to the side waiting for the Narthex line (as many as 50 communicants sometimes) to finish.
   At our parish the Ushers and EMHC do team up to be sure that anyone with mobility issues is brought Communion under both species at their pew, so if they were infirm they don't have any impediment to receiving.

What would you do?
Turn to the side and serve them first?
Wait until there is a break in the line (there usually isn’t) and serve them then?
Make them wait until the line is finished and then turn to minister the Sacrament to them?

I’d serve them first, they may not be aware of the policy to make sure those with mobility issues will be taken care of.

 

[MarkInOregon]

I would like to hear opinions about what you all think I should do in this situation.

 I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and at our parish's two busiest Sunday Holy Masses we station EMHC for both species to serve the many faithful who worship in the Narthex of our church (the large "gathering" space between the outside doors and the doors into the Nave [main worship space] of the Church).   Many of the worshippers out there are "regulars" so as Holy Communion is starting, they form into one Communion line, and the EMHC serve them at the door between Narthex and Nave.
  When I have served as an EMHC at that station, a couple of elderly parishioners from the back pews in the Nave present themselves from the side, and by their body language make clear they want to receive the Blessed Sacrament first.  In effect they are "cutting" the Holy Communion line.
   To me this seems disrespectful of those who have "queued up", but I know they would not like to stand there to the side waiting for the Narthex line (as many as 50 communicants sometimes) to finish.
   At our parish the Ushers and EMHC do team up to be sure that anyone with mobility issues is brought Communion under both species at their pew, so if they were infirm they don't have any impediment to receiving.

What would you do?
Turn to the side and serve them first?
Wait until there is a break in the line (there usually isn’t) and serve them then?
Make them wait until the line is finished and then turn to minister the Sacrament to them?

I can’t see myself standing in the line getting upset because an elderly person was served first. I’ve never even thought about “cutting” as a thing in the communion line. It’s not like waiting in line at the bank or grocery store–I’m not trying to quickly take care of business and get home. I’m going to say I don’t know why we get worked up over these type of things. Personally if I got upset over that while I was waiting to receive our Lord–I’d question whether or not I was in the right frame of mind to receive our Lord. If I wait a little longer it’s simply more time to prepare to receive our Lord and I don’t see that as a bad thing.

Why not serve the first person in the narthex line and while they are leaving and the next person in line is moving up–you then turn and serve the first person in the side line and then turn back to the narthex line. It doesn’t seem like that big of an issue to me.

The peace of Christ,
Mark

 

[jcrichton]

I can’t see myself standing in the line getting upset because an elderly person was served first. I’ve never even thought about “cutting” as a thing in the communion line. It’s not like waiting in line at the bank or grocery store–I’m not trying to quickly take care of business and get home. I’m going to say I don’t know why we get worked up over these type of things. Personally if I got upset over that while I was waiting to receive our Lord–I’d question whether or not I was in the right frame of mind to receive our Lord. If I wait a little longer it’s simply more time to prepare to receive our Lord and I don’t see that as a bad thing.

Why not serve the first person in the narthex line and while they are leaving and the next person in line is moving up–you then turn and serve the first person in the side line and then turn back to the narthex line. It doesn’t seem like that big of an issue to me.

The peace of Christ,
Mark

Hi, Mark!

Excellent points!

…it is a wonder how we allow the world to shape our life’s expectations when we should be adapting our life to Christ!

…where is the Love and Unity?

I fully concur with you… one must truly be short of introspection if sharing the Body of Christ is viewed under the same scope as a shark’s feeding frenzy!

Merry Christmas!
Maran atha!

Angel