A meditation: “The Quaker ideal is to make every meal at every
table a Lord's Supper. …The reality lies, not in the nature of
the material substance, but in the way it stirs the heart of every
partaker. The Quakers, and all Christians, are called upon to
remember Christ every time bread is broken.
— The Sacraments, Aspects of the Quaker Vision, Whittier
First Friends Church, Whittier, California
Early Christians gathered together for “agape feasts,” communal
meals that included the whole community—folks coming together
to share food as equals without attention to financial or social
status, without consideration to gender or rank. Eating together
led to a deeper understanding, a faith community that was diverse
and often at odds. It led to deeper communal prayer. It brought
a real and palatable expression of the kingdom—the experience—of
God.
In my small rural meeting we’ve renewed the practice of gathering
once a month or so at each other’s homes on a Friday evening to
share a meal with conversation and camaraderie. No program, no
agenda—the goal is simply being together. Some of us bring a fancy,
others a customary dish. Some of us bring what is expected others
try to surprise and delight. Some stick with the tried and true,
others experiment. It’s interesting and it’s fun and its community
at its best.
When I was traveling among Friends with the World Committee I
heard it referred to as a “carry in.” Here in Vermont we call
it “potluck,” and that term seems to be becoming more wide spread.
When I’m talking to my Mom, though, I call it a “covered dish”
because to her potluck is the miscellaneous dishes—left over’s,
sandwiches, soup—you put together for unexpected company (I can
still hear her saying to my aunts “Oh, why don’t you stay for
supper? It’ll just be potluck.”)
Good names, all. Eating together, coming to know each other softens
our conflicts, brings us into a stronger community, whatever we
call it. In the sharing, in the eating, in the cleaning-up, God
is present. Halleluiah. —cdw
Weekly devotional and prayer requests
for May 11-17, 2012
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