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September 17, 2021Wherever Jesus went, the Gospels tell us, he shared meals with friends and those whom he called to conversion. There are many such stories about Jesus in the New Testament. There are two I especially like. The first tells us of Jesus eating with Levi the Tax Collector and his friends whom the Pharisees considered sinners. This story appears in all three of the synoptic Gospels, so the early Christians must have thought it was important. The second is the story told by Luke in chapter 14 of Jesus dining with a Pharisee on the Sabbath when Jesus heals a man of dropsy (edema, possibly due to congestive heart failure). In this story, Jesus connects his ministries of healing and meal fellowship to the Kingdom of God which, he says, is like a great banquet to which everyone is invited!
Years ago, when I was still an Episcopalian, I attended St Christopher’s Church in Fairborn, Ohio. This small but friendly parish had found a practical way to celebrate this vision of the Kingdom of God as meal fellowship. Each liturgical year, the parish organized itself into groups of four families each. While most families were couples who may or may not have had children, single persons were also included.
Beginning in the season of Advent, the four families took turns hosting a monthly meal for their group. As result, each one of the families hosted the group dinner three times during the year. The host family was responsible for the main course. While other families in the group may have brought a side, a dessert, or a beverage to share, it was fine if they just brought themselves. At the end of the liturgical year, the parish reshuffled the families into another set of groups of four families each, and the whole rotational process began again.
An important feature of these gatherings was that they had no agenda beyond sharing a meal together and everyone getting to know each other. They were fun and remain one of my favorite memories from St Christopher’s. But they were more than just fun. They helped to create a wonderful sense of camaraderie and cohesion in the parish. And perhaps equally important, these meals proved to be evangelical as well.
How can a parish meal become an opportunity for evangelism? Let me share a story. There was a young woman in our parish whose husband was an atheist. He did not attend church with his wife and children, though he had no objection to their going. But he did join us for our parish meals. When it was his wife’s turn to host, he was her firm supporter, helping her with the cooking and the hosting. During these twelve months, he came to know us as we came to know him, and I’m happy to say that we all became close friends. We had many opportunities to share our faith with him while he listened and shared his thoughts with us. I can imagine Jesus doing the same at table with Levi and his tax collector friends, and with that Pharisee in the Gospel of Luke.
That was years ago, as I said. Since becoming a Catholic, I have learned that Catholics also love to get together for periodic communal meals. In many parishes, for example, members of the Knights of Columbus meet once a month for a Council dinner followed by a business meeting. At least one Catholic parish I know about organized monthly dinner parties that offered randomly selected groups of parishioners the opportunity to enjoy a communal meal while getting to know each other.
Recently, I was delighted to learn that the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, the mother church of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, has begun a practice like the one I experienced at St Christopher’s. The parish calls their program “Moveable Feasts.” That’s a pretty good name, I thought. No one is forced to participate, but anyone who wants to do so can sign-up online via the parish website.
To recap how the concept worked at St Christopher’s:- Each Advent, participating families are assigned to groups of four families each.
- Couples and singles both with and without children can be counted as families.
- A different family hosts the group dinner each month. Over the liturgical year, each of the four families normally serves as the host three times.
- The host family is responsible for the main course while other families are welcome to just bring themselves or a dish to share.
- These dinners have no agenda other than to share a meal and get to know each other.
- At the end of the liturgical year, the participating families are reshuffled into another set of groups of four, and the process of rotating hosts begins again.
Editor’s note: How is your Ordinariate community evangelizing? If you have a story, please contact us to share.