October 5, 2022

Dear People of God in the Diocese of Chicago:

I am giving thanks for this week’s news that COVID in Illinois is at its lowest rate since last spring, and for the new bivalent boosters that have made this progress possible. If you have not yet received your booster, I encourage you to learn more and schedule an appointment.

Given this good news, earlier today I told clergy and heads of congregations that our congregations can choose to resume using the common cup beginning today, October 5. I encourage each congregation’s clergy and vestry to make this decision together on a timetable that is appropriate for your community. Whenever you do choose to resume using the common cup, please make it clear to worshippers that anyone who continues to receive only the consecrated communion bread is participating fully in the sacrament.

This paper by the Rev. Michael Garner of the Anglican Church of Canada, commissioned by the Rt. Rev. Bruce Myers of Quebec, may be helpful for congregational leaders who are considering this decision. It concludes that there are no documented cases of COVID transmission from use of the common cup. However, I think it is wise to help limit infection of any kind by ensuring that intinction—dipping the bread into the wine—is performed only by the priest or Eucharistic minister, and not by individual worshippers.

As the weather turns colder, I encourage clergy and vestries to continue monitoring COVID levels in your community using the Illinois Department of Public Health website and taking appropriate steps to safeguard the health of your congregation. My staff and I are always available to assist you, and if you have questions about COVID protocols, please talk with the Rev. Andrea Mysen, director of ministries, via email or phone at 312-751-4203.

I am grateful for your ministry and your leadership, especially during this long pandemic.

God bless you and keep you,

Bishop Paula Clark