Baptists Switch to Wine: Grapejuice Companies Concerned

The Christian Post:

Grape juice companies are concerned about their profit margin after the nation's largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, announced it would stop using grape juice and begin using wine for communion on April 1 this year.

Southern Baptists use communion grape juice for a ceremony known as the "Lord's Supper." In the ceremony, the grape juice is called "the blood of Christ," or "the blood of Christ but not the actual blood of Christ," when speaking to Catholics.

U.B. Duped, a spokesperson for Jester's, the largest supplier of communion grape juice, announced Wednesday it would cut back on production and may cut its work force "thanks to those stinkin Baptists."

Former SBC President Frank Page told The Christian Post he was outraged that Jester's would consider "profitcy more important than prophecy," then quickly added that he knows "profitcy" is not a real word, but as a Southern Baptist preacher he is required to make it rhyme.

In other interviews with CP, Southern Baptist leaders expressed mixed feelings about the change.

Current SBC President Ronnie Floyd was excited about the move.

"I look forward to any change that makes communion more like the original Last Supper," he said, adding that he will also celebrate with bare, recently washed feet, and point out people who have betrayed him.

Here is the rest.