St. John the Divine, Morgan Hill and St. Luke’s, Hollister are together launching “Dinner Church”. Dinner Church is based in the “love feast” in the ancient church where they met around tables to eat and worship together. It is an ancient/modern way of being church. We sign the contemplatives chants from Taizé. We celebrate communion at the table with a loaf of bread and with wine (a non alcoholic alternatives) and share around the table thoughts on the reading for the day.
We hope to help to ease the crushing weight of modernity. There is no need for families to compete with Sunday morning sports, because we meet at alternate times. We all need to eat, and dining together means one less meal to prepare, or one less meal to eat alone. It is a place where people arrive as strangers, and leave as friends. It is also a way to re-experience spirituality in a soul-less world in a way that powered the rise of the Jesus Movement that not even the mighty Roman Empire could resist.
We are seeking to start a new worshipping community in the midst of our existing communities. All are welcome. If you are already part of a church. no problem. We don’t want folks to leave their communities, but we are holding a place for you if you would like to explore a new way of following Jesus. If church is something alien or off-putting for you, we get that. You will find that Dinner Church is a gentle way to explore faith that is not “cringe”.
Our next Dinner Churches will be January 31st at 5:00 pm at St. Luke’s,Hollister and February 17th at St. John’s, Morgan Hill. The February Dinner Church will be a “Pancake Dinner Church” for Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the 40 days before Easter.