Cookbooks

In the past couple of months, I've gone on something of a book buying spree. I am definitely of the camp that believes it is impossible to own too many books. Not only did I get the stack of books picture to the right, but I also needed to get more shelving for them! If you look at the picture carefully, you might notice a theme. Not only are they all cookbooks, but most of them deal specifically with feeding crowds.

My church in Kansas City, St. Andrews, has a Taize-style Candlelight Communion service on Sunday evenings. The service consists of meditative music, readings, silence, and communion. The worshipers generally leave the service in silence.

One of the goals (but certainly not the only goal) behind this service, as I understand it, was to provide a worship opportunity that might be meaningful to the community at the nearby UMKC campus. There have been people from UMKC who attend regularly, but it has been difficult for them and the other members of the congregation to get to know one another.

Adding a meal following the service to facilitate community building was discussed in the initial planning for the Candlelight Communion, but there was nobody willing or able to provide leadership towards making that happen. I have volunteered to be a part of a team to provide that leadership in the fall. We will spend this summer planning and hope to begin the dinners in September. I think that my role will be to plan menus and provide guidance to the volunteers who will help me prepare the meals each week. I would be happy if we had around 15 people stay for dinner in the beginning.

I was a member of a church in Pittsburgh that had a Saturday evening worship service that was followed by a meal. That meal was an essential part of the life of the community who worshiped at the Saturday Celebration. That should not be a surprise to anyone who has ever read the Bible; many significant Biblical events occur over a meal (Jesus' first miracle, the Last Supper, many of the Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, and of course one of the primary images of heaven is that of a feast)

I am excited to explore how this might help me bridge the gap between the two sides of my professional life. Until now, I always worked for either a church or a faith-based non-profit. You could say I was all about being a conduit so that people could be fed spiritually. Now I am focused on feeding people physically. This fall I hope to do both at the same time.