“You’re invited to supper this coming Sunday, February 21st, from 5-7pm , for our HEALTHY POTLUCK: Faith, Food, Fellowship and Love Feast!
Healthy nourishment means different things to different people, and the goal of our HEALTHY POTLUCK is to grow into a shared experience where everyone contributes. So, please come. Bring something nutritious /healthy to share. This is truly POTLUCK, so whatever shows up is what we eat! Then, after supper, our program will be a contemporary observance of an ancient Christian practice called THE LOVE FEAST.
The sharing of Love Feasts goes back to the New Testament church. Simple food is served quietly, passed from person to person, without interrupting the service. According to our United Methodist Book of Worship, the Love Feast “recalls the meals Jesus shared with disciples and expresses the spiritual fellowship enjoyed by the family of Christ.” Scripture readings, prayer, and praise are encouraged, witnessing to God’s grace, sharing in free and familiar conversation “for as long as the Spirit moves.”
Distinct from Holy Communion, the custom has appeared only at certain times in church history and among certain denominations. John Wesley first experienced it among the Moravians in Savannah, Georgia, in 1737, and he soon made it a regular part of all early Methodist gatherings. Its observance soon declined, but in recent years has revived again.
Charles Wesley wrote a prayer especially for the Love Feast. It can be sung to the tune of “This Is My Father’s World”.
Father of earth and heaven, Thy hungry children feed,
Thy grace be to our spirits given, That true immortal bread.
Grant us and all our race In Jesus Christ to prove
The sweetness of thy pardoning grace, The manna of thy love.
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)