Secret Eucharists

A splendid comedy line from Ruth Gledhill yesterday on the ‘secret Eucharist’ story:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, today presided at a ‘secret’ eucharist for the Clergy Consultation, as we reported that he would back in September.

Marvellous.

Meanwhile on various conservative websites there is much jumping up and down and gnashing of garments over the story. The irony, of course, is that by reading the vitriolic commenting one begins to understand why the organisers of this Eucharist would want it to be secret. Simon of Thinking Anglican fame has done some links so that you and I don’t have to.

I’ve been to quite a few secret Eucharists in my time. In fact there’s probably one near you. A small group huddled together at 10am on a Thursday morning in a cold church building undiscovered by the wider world.

Here’s a shocking supplementary fact to discuss near the water cooler: a large percentage of the communion services I have attended during my lifetime haven’t even had an ordained priest present, let alone doing the celebrating. You read it here first.