Whoa ... there's the slippery slope. Glad to hear that in certain parishes, "only the priest" is now distributing communion. And no doubt the lines move just as quickly.
If only it were true!! ;o)
I know some of our EEMs, and they're not ALL the priestess-wannabe types or the meddling little old ladies. And our church is so large that it might be tough to get everybody through the line in a reasonable period of time. The church seats about 800 people, and it is usually SRO at the 10 and 11:30 Masses (less so at 8 am and 530 pm). For special occasions like Ash Wednesday or the penance services they bring in extra priests, and everyone can receive from a priest, but under ordinary circumstances I'm not sure that our rector and his vicar (even with the assistance of the two deacons) could manage it and still keep the Mass within shouting distance of one hour. Not to mention that everybody in the choir loft would have to sprint downstairs . . . (and it's not just the choir, we usually have a nearly-full house of parishioners up there on either side of the choir area. We have to rope off our section or they start crowding into it . . . )
I guess it's a good problem to have.
I wonder if anybody has ever considered using the EEMs just for the chalice, while everyone receives the Host from a priest or a deacon. That was the way it was done in my old ECUSA church - my husband was head usher, so he counted noses every Sunday and it was usually 5-600 people. The priest was usually assisted by the vicar and one deacon in distributing the Host, while lay people held the chalices (one each side of the rail).
did you ever ask your pastor about the lady in line with her pyx