A Methodist minister has called off a planned communion service on Twitter while the Methodist Church examines whether it would be a valid communion.

 The Rev. Tim Ross last month announced his plans to take holy communion into the world of social networking - see the Church Times article and the dedicated Twitter Communion website – but the Church Times now reports that the Methodist Church needs time to reflect on whether such a service would be appropriate or whether it is against the ethos of a 2003 report titled “His Presence Makes the Feast”. Apparently communion should be more face-to-face than Facebook.

 Mr. Ross says it boils down to the question of whether the Christian community on the web is a valid community. “If the answer… is ‘Yes’, then a communion service performed by such a community of believers must be valid and may be performed”.