Here\u2019s an early church practice that needs to be brought\nback: frequent opportunities for the congregation to eat together.<\/p>\n\n\n
This simple but intimate act could well be what our ailing\nculture is missing.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWe live in an era of burgeoning social isolation that harms\nthe mental and spiritual wellbeing of individuals and undermines the harmonious\nfunctioning of institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
So says author Antone Martinho-Truswell, who points to one\nsolution that you\u2019ll already find in many a church\u2019s fellowship hall: The Long\nTable.<\/p>\n\n\n
He says sharing a meal all together at a long table, rather than scattered across square or round ones restaurant-style, provides a sense of community too often missing from our present day lives.<\/p>\n\n\n
And just to really drill down on interaction among people, Truswell\nrecommends the \u201cClub House Rule\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you arrive at informal dinner, you have precisely no\nchoice where or with whom you sit. Instead, you take your plate, head to the\nfirst of the long tables, and sit in the westmost open seat. Over the course of\nthe service, the table fills up from west to east, and any gaps fill as\nprevious diners finish and depart. No one sits at the second table unless the\nfirst is completely full. Finally, if you see anyone sitting alone at a\ndifferent table, it is the responsibility of every member of the house to trot\nright over and sit opposite them with a beatific smile, and either eat there or\ndrag them over to the communal table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
How awesome would it be to institute the Club House Rule at\nevery potluck dinner, youth group gathering, and fellowship hour!<\/p>\n\n\n
(And can you imagine filling the Sunday morning pews in this\nway? Talk about a shake up!)<\/p>\n\n\n