It's so simple...

This weekend was the Parish weekend away.  Ninety-five people from St. Thomas and St. Luke’s travelled to Abbot Hall, a hotel and conference center in Grange-Over-Sands.  It really was a great weekend.  The youth had their own teaching sessions, separate from the adults.  The 1-10 year olds were in one group, and the 11-16 year olds were in my group.  Kirsty, a member of St. Thomas that is the same age as me, she helps out with Youth Alpha and the Thursday lunch group as well, came along this weekend and worked with the older youth with me.   It really was a tremendous weekend, and such a great experience as far as growing relationships with many of the youth.  There were 10 youth in Kirsty and my group.

Prior to the weekend, Kirsty and I had looked at the list of youth in our group and made assumptions about how it would go and how the group dynamics would work.  I expected it to be a good weekend, but I set my expectations far too low. 

We arrived Friday afternoon, had tea, and a teaching session.  It was a little crazy with everyone arriving, the session was cut a bit short, and  it was just a bit hectic, but it went alright.  On Saturday we had breakfast, our second session, a tea/coffee break, our third session, then lunch.  During our first session Saturday morning Kirsty and I’s group talked about serving others.  We made 31 goodie bags for the children at a local school in Ashton that is catered towards children with physical and mental disabilities.  It was so great to see the group come together and put these little gift bags together.  Our second session of the morning was about having fun.  We talked about how God gave us the ability to laugh and smile and how we should enjoy life, his creation, and the gifts he has given us.  We played a few games and just enjoyed each other’s company.  It was so much fun!  That afternoon at lunch, our entire group ended up all sitting at the same table.  A few of us started a table and then we kept adding to it.  We were sneaking extra chairs over, and pinching the place settings from other tables.  A table that was meant to seat 8 was now seating 12.  One of the servers came and asked if we would like for them to set the table for 12 for tea.  She might have been being a bit sarcastic out of frustration that we had moved things around, but we said “Yes please!”  For the next three meals, Saturday tea, Sunday breakfast, and Sunday lunch, we all sat as a group at the same table. 

There was one youth who had come on this weekend away with his mom and grandmother.  I had never met him before, and he seemed very hesitant during the first session.  He didn’t attend any of the other sessions we had throughout the weekend.  This was a little disheartening, but when I think about what is really important, I realize that he shared these meals with the group.  He broke bread with all of us.  He was engaged in conversation and was accepted into the group like he had been there the entire time.

Kirsty and I tried to make the sessions interactive and fun, but no matter how much the group talked during a session, it really never compared to the conversations we had during our meals.  We talked about movies, school, hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes, and everything in between.  We had an entire meal full of riddles and another full of “Would you rather?”  It really was a great experience and a tremendous addition to our weekend.

My campus pastor at Clemson, PC, always pointed out the significance of sharing a meal together.  During our Wednesday night weekly gatherings we always had a meal.  He would say that when you share a meal, you not only share the food, but you share the table and the conversation.  It wasn’t until the drive home this weekend that I realized the significance that sharing those meals with the youth had on our relationships.  PC’s basis for this line of thought is biblically based.  If we look at many of the major stories and times when Jesus was teaching, they were, more often than not, shared over a meal.  This time of community was very important to Jesus’ ministry here on earth.  Maybe we should make it more of a part of our ministry.  The best conversations and the way that I have grown closest with the people here in Ashton have been through the sharing of a meal.  It is such an intimate setting.  To me, when I’ve shared a meal with a family, it is like being invited not only into their home, but into their family.  Likewise, at LCM on a Wednesday night, you never knew who all was going to sit at your table, and it was rarely ever the same exact group each week.  The personalities were different, the topics were different, but you all grew closer just the same.  Also, my mom has helped a great deal with GAIHN (Greenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network), a program for homeless families.  She will volunteer to prepare a meal during the week that Trinity hosts it.  An important part of this ministry isn’t just preparing the meal, but you also share the meals with the families.  Some of the most amazing stories that she would share weren’t about serving these people that were less fortunate, but it was about the stories that were told while they were eating together.

This weekend was amazing, and I really do think that these meals that Kirsty and I shared with the youth had a huge impact on this, but it has an impact on us all.  Sharing a meal together is such an amazing yet simple thing to do.  My challenge to you is to embrace this.  Is there someone new at work or at your church that you’d like to get to know?  Invite them for a meal.  You’ll be amazed at just how blessed your time will be.