{one} year @ sunday supper church

last week, we celebrated one year of gathering together as Sunday Supper Church! this started as a dream, an idea, a curiosity -- do people want to gather differently? 

and, one year later, here we are! gathered around the table, experiencing + creating church together, watching the movement of Jesus around us. and it's all too, too good. 

whatever the lord's supper is, it is everything that eating is. --hoyt hickman

a few reflections on the first year: 

we started this church almost a year ago because we noticed there were voices missing in the church. mainly: women, people of color, artists, the poor, and our gay + lesbian friends & family. we've done our best this last year to gather at the table, listen + learn from each other, and lead together. this year, multiple women led + pastored, men + women of color advised + led communion + planned our children's activities, the artists created photos + food + visuals + table decor + wood crafted ornaments, the poor PREACHED to us + taught us radical friendship, and our gay friends & family encouraged + led + financially gave. 

we believe all are made to reflect the beauty of Jesus, and i'm so thankful to have had my faith expanded this year as i saw Jesus in those at the table. 

you know, of course, what we believe about food. it's pure magic! a beautiful table of food gives us a moment to pause and reflect on Jesus's abundance, creativity, provision and creates an opportunity for equality (although not perfectly) as we eat the same food and look each other in the eye. 

when we began, i thought we'd experience the goodness of food only when we were gathered around the table on sunday nights. but, the president issued an executive order early in the year, and suddenly we were calling our friends at world relief chicago asking how we could help. the next week, we made lunch for their staff meeting, watched as they were encouraged in their important work, and suddenly our food share was born.

we spent the year looking for organizations doing good work in chicago, and then brought them food or paid for them to cater a supper church gathering. every single time, our faith was expanded as we were reminded: we aren't the experts in any of this work, there are organizations who are the experts, and our unique role is to encourage them to keep going by sharing beautiful food. i don't know all the specifics of Jesus math, but what i do know is that when you share food -- you are blessed, and we felt that over-and-over-and over.

{i've linked the organizations below. show some love!} 

finally, during the night last week, matt + jill talked about the power of showing up. that, for the last year, we had shown up on sundays, even when it was hard, or we were tired, or we would have rather stayed home. and we all shared stories about times we almost didn't show up {SO MANY TIMES!} but, matt + jill spoke to the power of showing up for each other + for ourselves -- that we're missed when not there, and as they spoke, i thought about the truth of their words. in a supper church of 40-50 people, gathered around a table, you don't always have room to hide which can sometimes make the experience scary + risky.

but, the reward, oh the reward this last year! showing up at the table, sharing our faith perspectives + learning from each other, being seen + affirmed is like nothing i've experienced before. 

pure-Jesus-table-magic. 

so. more of all of this in 2018. we'll keep gathering twice a month for sunday suppers, we'll keep sharing food with great organizations, and we'll do our best to create wider tables wherever we go -- in our homes, at restaurants, in our church as we show up with so much love + care for each other. 

World Relief Chicago, Kovler Center, Girl Forward, Center on Halsted, Emmaus Ministries, Breakthrough, First Slice, Inspiration Kitchens, Honeydoe, Lexington Betty Smokehouse, Blue Sky Bakery, The Resurrection Project