July 30, 2012

Stop and Share a Meal

I spent a lot of time this past weekend eating. A few of my college friends were in town, and we spent hours sitting around Moroccan food or pasta. This is how we got to know each other years ago in college: long hours of conversation around cafeteria tables and eating at Thai and Tex-Mex restaurants on the weekends.

Gathering around a table has always been effective way of building community. It’s one of the few times we put away our smart phones and stay still for awhile, at least long enough to nourish ourselves.

As I have mentioned before, it’s also the part of the weekly practice at St. Lydia’s, the church I attend on Sunday evenings. We sit at a table and share a meal that we have made together. I have gotten to know the other members of my community faster than I might have if we did not intentionally spend this time together.

Sharing a meal has always been an easier way for me to get to know my community than is coffee hour. At a meal we can move beyond small talk, and we don’t have to worry about or counting the minutes before we move to the next cluster of acquaintances. We would do well to gather around the table when we can, as church leaders, staff members, or the whole congregation.

Of course, most communities don’t share a meal every Sunday in the same way that St. Lydia’s does, but in the church I attended growing up we’d have potlucks on a monthly basis. This was a chance to share a bit of our food and ourselves. And my youth group would often grab burgers from Wendy’s (I know, not so healthy) and hang out after church. Few other times in our lives do we simply sit with each other.

Gathering at a meal, the Eucharist, has been a central part of the Christian tradition, since Jesus ate with his disciples. Sharing that which sustains us, seated around a table, is the oldest and easiest way to build community, to sit down and silence our phones and strengthen relationships.