I wrote a story a number of years ago, about an amazing person in Port Alfred, in the context of his business. He makes communion, sacramental, bread. I am almost sure of you settler descents, will remember this from Grahamstown? Sacramental bread, sometimes called the ‘lamb’, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. This seemingly simple bread, made world-wide is manufactured here in Port Alfred by a beaming, kindly man Colin Maclachan. Colin is one of three manufacturers of this important religious ingredient, and services something in the region of 356 customers who hail from as far as Botswana, Swaziland and all over South Africa. Colin finds it amusing that people exclaim in wonder at his products as for him it is a business. The traditional communion wafers served during Roman Catholic communion services are made out of two ingredients, wheat flour, and water. In fact, during the earliest years of the Christian church, there was an entire ritual surrounding the process of creating communion wafers, beginning with the selection and cleansing of the wheat. Once the wheat had been properly washed and ground, only a baker sanctioned by the local church council could produce communion wafers in a ceremonially shielded iron-plated oven. Today with modern technology the ritual is simplified and in the case of the “Maclachlan’ enterprise, there are only four workers attending to the astonishing twenty thousand wafers that are baked each working day. Eventually, certain orders of nuns assumed the responsibility of creating communion wafers, which often became a source of income for their convents. The standard ingredients still remained wheat flour and water, with no seasoning or leavening permitted. This particular production here in the Kowie, was started in Donkin Street Grahamstown by the nuns who used to make everything by hand in 1971. They in turn donated their equipment to St. Pauls Church who found that they were unable to cope with the workload. On hearing of their plight, and the fact that they were going to give everything away, Colin made the church an offer and set up business for himself. “The church had started the business in 1975 and I bought it from them in 2008 and mechanised, improved the client lists and we are thriving”. He grins as he explains. “My staff is wonderful, Pricilla worked with the St Pauls business from 1975, she is the expert”. “We are all so adept at our jobs, that the flow is smooth and other than electrical malfunctions, we are at work five days every week. When the wafers are ready, we box them, weigh the boxes and post them off to the clients”. Modern communion wafers may be embossed with religious symbols or perforated for easier dispensation. The priests who serve holy communion may have to consume larger communion wafers, also called hosts, than those placed on the tongues of congregants. There are also larger sheets of communion wafers designed to be broken along pre-scored lines. Religious supply stores often carry several different varieties of communion wafers to address the needs of different Christian denominations. Latter-day Saint scriptures state: For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory — remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 19:25:48 +0000
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