By P.J. Huffstutter and Duke Helfand

Los Angeles Times

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- After weeks of listening to parishioners sniffle in the pews, and worrying about the spread of the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend decided its flock needed to make some sacrifices.

Priests are locking up their Communion chalices and, as a precaution against the spread of germs, temporarily stopping the practice of offering wine during Mass.

"When you have 4,500 people showing up for Mass, and you have eight cups for the populace, it's easy to see how this could become a problem -- fast," said the Rev. John Kuzmich of St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Wayne, whose church in northeastern Indiana has about 10,000 members.

As flu season gets under way and fears mount over reports of a rising death toll from H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, many U.S. congregations are taking precautions and adjusting their rituals.

"It's the prudent thing to do," said the Rev. Marcos Gonzalez of St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church in Inglewood, Calif., which also plans to offer parishioners the Eucharistic host but no wine in coming weeks.

Stanford University's Memorial Church in Palo Alto, Calif., is asking people attending its services to dip the Communion bread into the wine, while Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, Kan., has taken a more unusual step: wiping its chalices with vodka-soaked gauze after each parishioner takes a sip.

Other congregations have different solutions.

Members of the United Church of Christ in Garden City, N.Y., have been asked to raise their hands -- instead of shaking them -- when greeting one another during services. In Muncie, Ind., volunteers at Union Chapel Ministries are pulling on protective gloves each Sunday before they pick up the collection plate.

Federal and state health officials say these are small but necessary changes to limit the spread of the virus.