a word from robin . march 2007

breaking bread with friends

At Mayflower there is a wonderful way to break bread with friends and get better acquainted with all those new faces you see on Sunday morning. It’s called Mayflower Fellowship Dinners. The idea is very simple: You sign up and agree to be in the monthly rotation for a simple evening meal held in the home of a participating church member(s). Summer months are excluded, so we’re talking about September through May.

Jack Alley runs the program and is the master of the secret computer program which shuffles the names of eight people to randomly create the dinner party. Everyone who signs up gets a number, and participants are selected to be either the host (who agrees to set the table, provide drinks, and contact the other guests to set a time and give directions to the house), the provider of the main dish, the provider of the salad and bread, and the provider of the vegetables and dessert. Such assignments can be filled by either a couple or an individual.

The most difficult task is finding a night when all eight people can come! But once this happens, the idea is to make it as easy and informal as possible. And there is nothing like being in someone’s home and eating together, to help everyone get better acquainted. The conversation around the table is lively and animated (as you would expect from Mayflower folk).

It is a two-hour time commitment, and Shawn and I always come home feeling that it was a good thing to do – helping to bring a far-flung and growing congregation closer together. Granted, it sometimes feels like adding one more thing to our busy schedules is impossible, but these dinners are a simple, meaningful, and memorable way to meet the other members of the Mayflower family, and breaking bread in the homes of friends is the oldest of Christian sacraments. 
    
After returning from a fellowship dinner recently Shawn pointed out only 28 “units” (couples or individuals, not including alternates) are actively participating in the program. Yet the church has many, many new members who want to get integrated into the church, meet new friends, and enjoy the progressive approach to the spiritual life we cherish. 

If you haven’t tried fellowship dinners now would be a good time to sign up, and you can begin in the fall if you like. If you are new to the church, sign up and give it a try. You will meet some of the most interesting and amazing people in Oklahoma City and you will come to know you are not alone in your approach to life and faith.

Jack Alley’s e-mail is jacka9@aol.com. He would love to add you to the list.

Let us break bread together,

Robin

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