Chicken Dinner

The Sunday before Palm Sunday is Chicken Dinner Sunday. No, you won't find it listed on any calendar you might have from Cracker Barrel or Office Max, but on the annual calendar of the congregation I serve, two Sundays are sacred in faith family life: Wurstmart (a pork sausage dinner) which is held on the third Sunday of October and Chicken Dinner which is held on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. On those Sundays, and those Sundays only, our faith family has only one service of worship at 9:00 a.m., no Christian Education classes, and serving begins at 11:00 a.m., going through at least 3:00 p.m. It is not unusual that, between 'Dine-In' customers and 'Drive Through' (and Carry-Outs) we will serve in the neighborhood of 700 people in four hours. "All You Care To Eat" is how the dinners are advertised . . . and that is exactly what people come to test: How much do I care to eat . . . before I explode? Believe me, we have had some pretty near misses in terms of near explosions, if the number of times back for extra helpings is any indication. With real mashed potatoes, green beans cooked with bacon, fresh cole slaw with a sweet vinegar dressing, and homemade pies and sweets, folks have a tendency to stay as long as there are loops in the belt or elastic in the waistline of the dress. My, oh my! In the vernacular of my people, "It's quite a feed!"

More than the people fed or the money made, these dinners have had an profound effect upon the congregation: Over the fifteen or so years these dinners have been held, those of the congregation who have volunteered of their time and leadership for the dinners have become the core group for welcoming new people into the congregation. These dinners are not only excellent evangelism opportunities (We are known as the congregation that loves to eat!), but they are also wonderful moments for internal integration of folks new to our congregation and/or the Christian faith. These dinners give all of us the opportunity to practice radical hospitality: Everybody has both a place at the table and a job to do in welcoming others in setting the table. The long term members, who could be territorial, have become the welcoming committee for those who want to offer their gifts. The new members, who tend to be somewhat overwhelmed by the event, open the eyes of others as to what might be possible with the 'new eyes and ears' that they bring to every gathering.

This is a course in congregational formation that was never taught in seminary . . . and yet was taught every time we came to the Table. Though I doubt that Jesus was at a Chicken Dinner the Sunday before Palm Sunday, at least it is not recorded in the Bible that He was, were He to have walked in on this one, I think His smile might have been the very sunshine which brightened the room. Everyone welcome, everyone working side by side, everyone visiting and sharing the load with each other, and most staying until the last dish is dried and put away: now that is Christian hospitality at its best . . . and its very root is at the Table where Jesus said, "My Body . . . My Blood . . . . do this in remembrance of me."

Anymore, making a few dollars for missions and projects is a nice side benefit, but, as the Apostle Paul puts it in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, " . . . the greatest of these is love." Chicken Dinner Christianity: don't wrinkle your face at it unless you've tried it. Feeding the soul is a great deal easier if the belly isn't hungry, so why not do both at the same time? I am forever humbled by what this congregation continues to teach me of the faith . . . and I pray you have the chance to dine at this table as well. He set it for us all.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don