It’s important to do something special to prepare for Easter. This year instead of a Lenten series (our folks are so busy and spread out!), we’ve decided to challenge everyone in the community to participate in ONE Lenten Sunday Supper.
The idea is that on one of the 5 Sundays before Palm Sunday (Feb. 17, 24; March 3, 10, or 17), you will share Sunday Supper with others from Old First in someone’s home. (We don’t often see each other’s homes!)
We’re going to mix and match people, deliberately arranging it so that you will be at a table with people who aren’t your closest friends at church. This will make for an opportunity to get to know some new people more deeply. That’s increasingly important as our Old First community continues to welcome people all the time.
We’re even asking spouses / partners to split up and go to different meals. Likewise, for this event, we’re not going to let the geography of our homes be how we pair people up for dinner. It is only a one time event after all. And we’d like these to be “adults only” meals; if you need help with childcare, let us know, and we will arrange it.
The idea is to get together over a family-style Sunday supper. No fancy dinner party fare. Instead, hearty food like you might make for your family. And the opportunity, in a smaller setting outside of church, to share a meal and conversation together.
At the end of each dinner, there will be a brief Lenten devotional time, sharing and a prayer. To facilitate this, everyone is asked to bring something from home that they no longer need and are willing to give to someone else. Please, these Lenten gifts should be nothing bought new or expensive. Rather something that you recognize you don’t need. After all, Lent is traditionally the season when we give things up!.
The closing devotional will be a relaxed and informal — imagine leaving the table for coffee and dessert, sitting around in a circle. And, as always with church, when we are sharing, people may always pass.
To get the ball rolling, we need to identify a number of people who are willing to host meals, and who wants to participate in a Sunday Lenten Supper.
This link will allow you to sign-up to host of meal or to say that you want to be invited to a meal, and provide the other information we need to arrange the suppers.
There will be a sign-up table before worship in the lower narthex and in the social hall after worship for the next few weeks.
Once we have gotten everyone assigned to a Sunday Supper, we will send out invitations.
We hope everyone will make one of their Lenten commitments to be involved!
