Sunday Lunch

From London Yearly Meeting's Christian Faith and Practice:
"Many who are shy of attending meetings for an avowedly religious purpose will respond to a loving concern which springs from simple friendship. There is therefore great value in small gatherings or individual talks in the homes of Friends, where people, not only members and attenders, can meet to exchange ideas and theories, doubts and preoccupations, and to discuss projects and careers. It has been our experience that such gatherings have had a profound effect upon the lives of men and women, both those who give and those who receive such hospitality. 1959

I have an incredible job. The good thing about my job is that it isn’t a job. It is a lifestyle. It is a gift that my husband and I are released into our community to be with people, to visit the elderly, to concern ourselves with the spiritual and the eternal, and to build community with a group of Quakers. In reality, our lifestyle should not be much different than most who claim to be Christian. It is just that we are released to do this full time and to not have to make living elsewhere.

One of the things I enjoy the most about our lifestyle is Sunday Lunch. It is a time of pot roast, politics and post sermon analysis. I grew up with Sunday lunches as a time to gather in family homes after church. I remember more Sundays than not when our family would gather at either of my grandparents home after church. My grandmothers would pull out their best china and we would spend the afternoon around the table as a family talking about everything and anything happening in our community, in our church and in our family. Those were experiences where I bonded with my grandparents and places where I felt love and acceptance and where I learned (through example) to be hospitable.

I don’t set out the good china every week (actually….I would if I had any), but I do try to have a meal ready for a table full of guests each Sunday after meeting for worship. In this day and culture we’ve lost the tradition of home cooked meals around a table after church on Sunday. I am happy to recreate the opportunity to be around a dining table and spend hours talking about everything and anything with those we consider community. The menu doesn’t matter, but the time does. For me personally, it feeds my soul as well as my body. Because we don’t have children or a family close by, those we have around our table on Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evenings for our prayer gathering, provide us an opportunity to make a connection with our community. It is a moment in our week when we share with people our concerns, hopes and fears. It is a time to laugh and cry. It is a time in our week to pray for others. It is a place where we grow community and where we give acceptance and love and receive acceptance and love. It is a place of life.

I have the best job in the world…….