No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.

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We have taken steps to improve our welcome this past year, recognizing that many of us have food sensitivities and allergies.

• A food intolerance or food sensitivity is when your digestive system has difficulty digesting (breaking down) food. When you eat certain foods hours later, you may experience uncomfortable symptoms like nausea, cramps, gas, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Intolerances can be painful but aren’t usually dangerous.

• A food allergy occurs when the immune system mistakenly identifies a food protein or other ingredient as harmful. Even a little contact with that food can cause the immune system to release antibodies to fight the perceived threat. Although any food can cause an allergy, the FDA suggests that nine foods cause 90% of reactions. A reaction to a food can start within seconds or take up to two hours. A reaction can be fatal.

 

We have responded by making adjustments that enable more of us to come to the table.

1. Communion bread is gluten-free bread.

2. For coffee hour, we have increased the number of store-bought packaged foods made available so that ingredient lists are on them.

3. Foods not in store-bought packaging are labeled if they are known to contain any of the 9 foods that account for 90% of allergic reactions: cow’s milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish, wheat, soy, fish, or sesame. These steps do not provide the same level of assurance.

4. Signs have been posted on or near doors indicating that we are a peanut-free building. No peanuts, peanut butter, or peanut-containing items are allowed.

 

We are committed to caring for one another and will continue to strive to do what we can. Your suggestions are always welcome and can be sent to office@amicablechurch.org

 

Printed materials with more in-depth information may be found on a table on the south side of the Upper Hall.