Take this bread, drink this cup — but peel back plastic first

Take this bread, drink this cup — but peel back plastic first
Sanford company prepackages Holy Communion

By Rachael Jackson, Orlando Sentinel

November 23, 2009

Fresh produce now comes shrink-wrapped, but a Sanford company takes prepackaging to a whole new level.

Make that a holy new level.

Compak Companies’ product looks like a miniature pudding cup. But pulling back the plastic reveals a communion wafer. Under another layer is grape juice. For worshippers, it’s a more convenient, more sanitary way to celebrate Holy Communion at church, company officials say.

The company, which moved to Sanford in 2004, says “Celebration Cup” sales are up 15 percent to 20 percent and have spurred ideas for several new products with uses outside the church sanctuary. Company leaders say it’s hard to pin down exactly why their sales have increased, but they say that fears about the spread of swine flu and a marketing push likely helped.

“It’s more sanitary, more hygienic and it’s a lot more convenient, especially for larger churches so they’re not having to pass two trays,” Jaquie Dua, marketing director, said.

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta started using the product in June after hearing a media blitz about how to prevent the spread of the flu.

“We want to be mindful,” church administrator Glenda Boone said, calling it a “health measure.”

Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville started using the cups in December.

“We use them mainly for the convenience,” office manager Clarice Hopkins said.

Before Macedonia started using the cups, similar to oversized thimbles, a handful of people would spend hours filling little cups with juice and arranging bread on trays for 1,000 parishioners. Frequent spills and sticky messes resulted as trays were passed person-by-person down pew rows.

The Celebration Cups take about half an hour to arrange on trays before services. They’re more expensive, but Hopkins said the time saved is worth it.

“I love it,” parishioner Joyce Bynes said. “It makes the communion go very fast.”

“It’s probably more sanitary too,” fellow churchgoer Trish Martin said.

For Christians, the Holy Communion rite is a way to connect with Jesus Christ — the bread and juice or wine represent his body and blood.

Ronald Critton, senior pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford, which does not use the Celebration Cups, said some churches might see them as too contemporary and prefer the traditional trays, partially because preparing them can be a time for bonding and can help people feel like as if they are contributing. But Critton, who sometimes preaches at Macedonia, said he didn’t think the Celebration Cups took anything away from the service.

Catholics shouldn’t expect to start sipping from the little plastic cups any time soon.

“Absolutely not,” said the Very Rev. Bob Webster, director of liturgy for the Catholic Diocese of Orlando. In the Catholic church, parishioners drink wine out of a single chalice, which reflects how Jesus passed around a single cup at the Last Supper, he said. The chalice also must be made out of a non-porous and semi-precious material such as gold, silver or pewter. Webster added that, for Catholics, the bread and wine are not simply symbolic — they believe they become the body and blood of Christ during Mass.

“The dignity of what it is that we’re celebrating is not enhanced by a particular vessel like that that’s disposable,” he said.

Nonetheless, Compak Companies is planning to start making the cups with wine in them and hopes more denominations will consider the product, which costs $25.25 for a set of 100. About a million of the little cups are manufactured each week.

In a Sanford warehouse machinery does everything from forming the cups from sheets of plastic to pasteurizing the grape juice and sealing in the final layer of plastic over the wafer.

Compak Companies’ biggest customers are Christian stores, which then sell to churches, but it also sells directly to congregations ranging from Baptist to non-denominational faiths. The cups have been ordered for religious camps and conferences. And they have been used by pastors visiting people who can’t travel to church or who lead jail inmate worship.

The company was founded in the early 1990s but didn’t move to Sanford until BMJ Partners Corp., a commercial real estate business, acquired it.

Now they’re looking to offer more products that use the dry- and wet-layer concept to create nutritional products for children, portable fluoride treatments and containers that increase the shelf life of medications.

“It all stemmed from the communion cup,” Carol Buford, chief operating officer, said.

Rachael Jackson can be reached at 407-540-4358 or rjackson@orlandosentinel.com.

Possible spin-off products from the Celebration Cup:

Nutri-Pak. Would have vitamin-loaded pudding on the bottom and a cookie in the dry layer. Company officials foresee these cups being used on mission trips and in vending machines and hope to roll them out in the next two years.

Dental-Pak. Would include a fluoride tablet at the top and a liquid solution in the reservoir portion. It could be used on mission trips and offer quick fluoride treatments.

Medical applications. A pill-and-water combination or a system that would put the potent portion of an injection in the dry layer to increase its shelf life and enable a person to mix the injection shortly before administering it.

Sanford allows use of city logo on homeless information card

Sanford allows use of city logo on homeless information card
by Rachel Delinski, Herald Staff

Sanford commissioners this week gave permission to a social-service agency to print the city’s logo on a homeless information card that a group wants to hand out.

Commissioners last week were set to deny the request after a discussion during a work session determined the logo’s use may create somewhat of a liability for the city. Staffers recommended the city deny the use of the logo because the card was not financially sponsored by the city.

In anticipation of their decision, Trace Trylko, chairman of the Seminole Action Coalition – Serving Our Needy, requested that the commission continue the item until he was given a chance to make a formal presentation. The commission agreed, and allowed SACSON time to prepare a presentation on why the city should allow use of the logo.

The card lists information important to homeless people in the community: lodging and counseling, healthcare, clothing, utility assistance and food or meals.

Bettie Sonnenberg, a member of SACSON working to produce the cards, said in a previous interview with the Herald, “It would be nice if we could have the logo because it would show that there is some sort of support to break that cycle of homelessness.”

Trylko argued the same position during his presentation.

“Yes, this project can and will go forward, with or without that logo,” he said. “The bigger point is this community coming together behind a pro-active project that begins to address the growing number of homeless people in our community.”

But commissioners indicated they had already made their minds up. Assistant city attorney Lonnie Groot suggested during last week’s discussion that the commission should not allow use of the logo. Commissioner Jack Bridges even told Trylko he would not approve the logo use.

“I like to vote on facts, not emotions. If you ever see a statue of Lady Justice she is blindfolded. She’s not supposed to see emotions. She’s supposed to see facts,” he said. “Tell me why the city’s logo on this card is going to make a difference.”

Trylko responded: “I think the fact is the city’s logo on this card would send a clear message to this community that the city leaders, such as yourself, are interested in working with the community to address the issue of homelessness.”

Trylko also turned around Bridges’ request for “facts,” asking what the commission had done to help the homelessness issue in Sanford. No response was given to his question.

Bridges argued that it was the moral and emotional duty of the commission to provide information to the homeless, but it was not a factual requirement.

Trylko said: “It could be argued that a role of government is the dissemination of information to its citizens.”

Throughout the discussion, Bridges also said use of the logo by an unsponsored entity would set a precedent, and the city may have to allow others to use it from now on. Trylko suggested the city may not be as concerned about precedent as stated, citing the city’s sponsorship of Hopper Academy for $7,500 just two weeks ago. He said if the commission was really concerned about precedent, then SACSON should receive a sponsorship also.

After much discussion, Mayor Linda Kuhn suggested the commissioners grant use of the logo, but only for a temporary period. After that period, SACSON would need to come back to the commission and give another presentation about the success of the card.

Commissioner Velma Williams said she agreed with this approach because while she did not believe the commission had an obligation to help the homeless directly, she did think commissioners should support organizations that are helping the homeless.

Commissioner Art Woodruff agreed, and suggested the commission grant use for one year, or to print up to 1,000 cards, whichever comes first. The group would have to make another request to continue using the logo.

Even Bridges, who said he would vote against the idea, said he could work with the compromise.

Despite the commission’s initial hesitation, all approved the item under the terms of the compromise, allowing the use of the city’s logo on SACSON’s information card.

Sanford May Pass Tougher Panhandling Laws

Click anywhere to see Channel 9’s story …
WFTV.com

SANFORD, Fla. — The city of Sanford wants to be able to arrest some of its most aggressive panhandlers. Downtown business leaders have been pushing for tougher panhandling laws for years and now the city is about to pass them.

There’s nothing illegal about begging for money and, technically, that won’t change. What will be regulated is so-called “aggressive” panhandling, which is panhandling by someone who touches the person they’re asking for money, blocks an entrance to their car or building or anyone who panhandles while drunk.

For parents with babies or a group of shoppers, downtown Sanford may seem like an escape from urban hassle. But the very urban problem of panhandling has hit downtown hard. Now, the city thinks it may have a solution.

“I think it’s wonderful that they’ve actually done something about it,” Exclusive Cuts Salon owner Brenda Iles said.

Iles organized business owners after a panhandler forced his way into her salon. She likes the idea of arresting those who use intimidating tactics.

“That’s pretty much what the situation was, is they always wanted more. Once you gave them a little, they took more,” she explained.

However, targeting people who claim they’re just “asking for help” involves hurdles. There’s nothing illegal about walking through a public space with a cup or a hand out asking for money. In fact, it’s even protected by the Constitution.

That’s why Sanford leaders say the plan will only work if the city is very clear about what takes legal panhandling into the aggressive realm.

“The police know what they can enforce and citizens know what they can do or not do,” assistant city attorney Lonnie Groot said.

While many businesses welcome tighter restrictions, a few insist it’s a problem best handled at the personal level.

“You treat them with a little bit of respect and you explain to them that you’re in business the same way that they’re in business, to try and make a little bit of money,” Willow Tree Cafe owner Theo Hollerbach said.

The panhandling problem becomes more serious on the streets during the winter months, so the change comes at the right time. People who panhandle aggressively would face as much as 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Copyright 2009 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Please check out the Sanford tab on IDignity’s Web site …

for photos from Sanford’s 1st IDignity project on May 14. Thanks to Michael Dippy for posting the photos!

Just click anywhere on this story and it will take you to the Web site.

Some snapshots from Sanford’s 1st IDignity …

Thanks to Judy Wilhelm of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for these photos. Send us your IDignity photos and we’ll post them on the blog, too!