The Dinner (…and Lunch…and More) Church

It seems like all churches have a thing for feeding each other.  But it seems especially so with Episcopal churches.  On any given Sunday, worship may be endured just to get to fellowship!  And if a smorgasbord of delectables can’t be had at coffee hour, then chances are pretty darn good that a potluck dinner is to follow.  But the need to feed doesn’t stop with feeding one another; Episcopalians take dearly to heart the mission to feed the world! Feeding the hungry, both literally and symbolically is what Episcopalians do.  Not the least example of such a church is St. James Church in Essex Junction.

St. James Episcopal Church in Essex Junction, VT

Most Episcopal churches collect food for their local food pantries—some even ARE the local food pantry. 

Many churches participate in local and ecumenical food distribution projects.  Quite a few offer community meals.  Well, St. James does all that and more!

St. James' shield

Their symbolic shield should picture three oysters-on-a-half-shell rather than merely the three scallop shells that typify St. James, for everyone knows that oysters make good eats. Each oyster shell would represent a branch of feeding: the community at large, one another, and spiritual nourishment.  Tuesdays are busy days in the summer at St. James.  Not only does Meals-on-Wheels, which operates five days a week out of the St. James kitchen, come in to prepare meals for their day’s patrons (roughly 125 per day of both hot and cold meals, tailored to individual dietary requirements), but it is also the day folks come in to pack bags full of a week’s worth of lunch provisions for hungry children who don’t have the benefit of the school lunch program during summer vacation—the Ecumenical Lunch Bunch or ELB.  Some people donate food supplies, others donate their time to help organize and pack the grocery bags.  Still others help with the distribution.  St. James has a community garden and some of the produce from that garden goes into the lunch bags. Like St. James in Arlington, this program is an ecumenical one with participants from a number of area churches of various denominations: Catholic, United Church of Christ, Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, etc.  And of course, it goes (almost) without saying, they collect for the local food shelf.  In these ways, St. James does its part to feed its neighbors.

feeding the masses

Equally important to feeding the hungry and providing nourishment to those in need is the notion that food also serves a social and fellowship function. When people enjoy a meal together, that common experience brings them closer together and relaxes the dynamic of the group to enable a healthy exchange of ideas.  So food becomes a centering device for a number of St. James gatherings. Members of St. James participate in Foyers, a fellowship program where small groups gather at different conveners’ homes for a simple meal and good conversation. Periodically, they have fun programs like “Pancakes and Parables” where they gather for breakfast and a Bible Study. This takes the concept of coffee hour to a whole new level! But perhaps their most meaningful or spiritual food-centered gathering is their monthly Dinner Church.  This is essentially a meal surrounded by worship. Holy Eucharist is shared, and between the sacraments of bread and wine, a meal is served.  Casual conversation is shared during the meal and then attention is re-gathered with the Word of God as the service proceeds to its close. Food for the meal may be prepared by a small group or it may be provided as potluck. Dinner Church is held on the second Friday each month.

Lest you think that St. James, Essex Junction is only about food, this congregation is vibrant and active in

images from St. James Church, Essex Junction

many other ways. Worship is augmented with music provided by a number of choirs, including a cherub choir made up of very young children.  They also have an active bell choir, and adult choir. St. James’ Kids offers the youth of the congregation opportunities to learn about outreach through activities offered at least once a month.  Sometimes the outreach that is offered is barely recognizable under the cloaking of fun! On the other end of the age spectrum, St. James has Sole Mates.  Sole Mates consists of any single person over the age of 65.  Like St. James Kids, Sole Mates gets together for fun activities, day (or even longer) trips, and various “good works” activities. St. James sponsors a Sudanese mission in Africa and each April hosts a fundraiser to support that mission. Outreach is an important element of mission at St. James, and almost all their activities endeavor to reach out to others in faith.

It makes a certain amount of sense that healthy faith communities such as St. James, Essex Junction would center much of their mission on food.  For food is the source of nourishment, not only for the body and mind, but for the spirit as well.  To be able to nourish a deeply spiritual faith with both literal and symbolic food is a special gift.  It is gift that St. James has in abundance and is more than happy to share!