I have celiac disease and so it makes normal things very challenging. My food can’t touch food that has gluten. I have had a bad rash on my leg for over a month now and that is just a minor reaction to my disease which can range to very severe.
Today in church we have communion. Something Jesus commands us to do to remember him. Churches can handle people with celiac disease in three ways – force people to bring their own “bread” (which I never remember so usually I go without), offer both rice crackers and bread (thus segregating people like me), or like my church – they just offer rice crackers instead of bread. They might be offending people who want bread- I mean Jesus did break bread and not rice crackers. They do not have to offer this alternative or force all who want communion to have crackers but they do this for the weakest among them. Is it a sacrifice for others – sure but is it worth it for us all to have communion together and not feel different?
This isn’t really about rice crackers though that’s a real and tangible example of how churches treat people. Dear Christian brothers and sisters, please look around you and ask God to show you who you can eat rice crackers with in the name of Jesus, not just in communion but also in life.
Amanda Carrasco 
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