it would not have been god's table

On their own, the bread and wine are nothing.
To become a foretaste and a promise
of love made real and a world made whole,
they need a story and a blessing
and a people who believe…

It would not have been God’s table
if they hadn’t all been gathered around it:
the betrayer and the friend
the power-hungry and the justice seeker
the faithful and the fickle.

When Jesus poured the wine, and the bread was broken;
when everyone could eat -
the outcast and the beloved
the arrogant and the gracious
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by -
the table became a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.

Your company at the table, Ross,
will include the betrayer and the beloved
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by.

It would not be God’s table without them.

And the promise is
that when you are together,
when you tell the story and give the blessing
when you break the bread and pour the wine
you will discover a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.

My thanks to Jonny Baker for recording this liturgy on his worship tricks blog, and to the author Cheryl Lawrie who wrote this for a fellow chaplain.

Blessing The Bread

A Litany for Four Voices by Carter Heyward
Adapted by Sandy Dodson

Voice 1: In the beginning was God
Voice 2: In the beginning, the source of all that is
Voice 3: In the beginning, God yearning
Voice 4: God, moaning
Voice 1: God, labouring
Voice 2: God, giving birth
Voice 3: God, rejoicing
Voice 4: And God loved what she had made
Voice 1: And God said, “It is good.”

Voice 2: Then God, knowing that all that is good is shared
Voice 3: Held the earth tenderly in her arms
Voice 4: God yearned for relationship
Voice 1: God longed to share the good earth
Voice 2: And humanity was born in the yearning of God
Voice 3: We were born to share the earth
Voice 4: In the earth was the seed
Voice 1: In the seed were the grain and fruit
Voice 2: In the grain and fruit was the harvest

Voice 3: In the harvest was the bread and wine
Voice 4: In the wine and bread was the power

Voice 1: And God said, All shall eat of the earth
Voice 2: All shall eat of the seed
Voice 3: All shall eat of the grain and fruit
Voice 4: All shall eat of the harvest
Voice 1: All shall eat and drink of the bread and wine
Voice 2: All shall eat and drink of the power
Voice 3: God said, You are my people
Voice 4: My friends
Voice 1: My lovers
Voice 2: My sisters
Voice 3: My brothers
Voice 4: All of you shall eat and drink

Voice 1: Of the bread, of the fruit
Voice 2: And the power
Voice 3: All shall eat and drink
Voice 4: Then God, gathering up her courage in love, said
Voice 1: Let there be bread and wine!

Voice 2: And God’s sisters, her friends and lovers knelt on the earth
Voice 3: Planted the seeds
Voice 4: Prayed for the rain
Voice 1: Sang for the grapes and grain
Voice 2: Made the harvest
Voice 3: Cracked the wheat and plucked the grapes
Voice 4: Pounded the corn and pressed the fruit
Voice 1: Kneaded the dough and strained the juice
Voice 2: Kindled the fire and filled the jars
Voice 3: Filled the air with the smell of fresh bread and fermenting fruit
Voice 4: And there was bread!
Voice 1: And there was wine!
Voice 2: And it was good!

Voice 3: We, the sisters of God say today
Voice 4: All shall eat of the bread, drink of the wine
Voice 1: And the power
Voice 2: We say today,
Voice 3: All shall have power
Voice 4: And bread, And drink
Voice 1: Today we say
Voice 2: Let there be bread. Let there be wine.

Voice 3: By the power of God
Voice 4: By the bread and juice of God
Voice 1: The power is blessed
Voice 2: By the power of bread and juice
Voice 3: The people are blessed
Voices 1,2,3,4: Amen

The Last Supper!

I came across this unusual tomb whilst on my travels around the world wide web. I assume that the occupant was taking seriously the word of Jesus in Revelation and was thoughtful enough to provide a table for the meal.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

It would seem that even in death the powerful imagery of the table holds a great attraction for us and makes a statement about the manner of the relationship we desire with God.

Music For Valentine's Day

The church held a special concert last night as part of the ongoing celebrations of our 30th Anniversary. Lotti Newstead and John Marsh gave a wonderful show, performing some of the great love songs of all time. A wonderful team of people came together in an ad hoc way to cook, decorate and wash up. They provided a tremendous meal of Somerset pork and three different desserts. Several people remarked that this was one of the best evenings they can ever remember the church producing.

Having said all of that - it was the meal that changed the dynamic. Instead of having everyone sat in rows watching a concert, the people sat in convivial groups around tables. The music and food were woven around the evening and complimented each other. The atmosphere greatly enhanced by the sense of family which was engendered by eating together. Indeed there was as loud a round of applause for the cook as for the musicians.

Winnie the Pooh's Thoughts about Food

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.

TC @ YG Report

We held our first table church evening with YG our young people's group last night. Nine of us gathered around an improvised table to enjoy a home cooked chicken dinner. The group included two people who had not attended ther group before. The meal certainly enhanced the conversation around the table which covered many subjects inlcuding: how to deal with difficult house mates and who we would or would not have dinner with. The evening was enjoyed by all and the new folk were quickly made to feel welcome. It was difficult to introduce a serious note but I suspect the secret is for it to be an organic not contrived process and that further experience and experiment will allow the real format to emerge.

Koinonia

Koinonia is the Anglicization of a Greek word (κοινωνία) that means communion by intimate participation. The word is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe the relationship within the early Christian church as well as the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal [John 6:48-69, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:24]. As a result the word is used within the Christian Church to participate, as Paul says, in the Communion of - in this manner it identifies the idealised state of fellowship and community that should exist, this we call - Communion.