When it comes to getting together over a meal, most
people don’t find this to be a problem.I can recall though on a few occasions when I found some of these visits to be embarrassing, humorous, not so pleasant and “nope, we won’t do that again” events.
As we prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in
America I’d like to share something that many churches or Christian
organizations do throughout the East Coast.
They call these gatherings … progressive dinners!
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Not Your Pot Luck Meal
Having dinners is a regular event in most churches
throughout the world. They are called
all sorts of things for such gatherings, but mostly from what I’ve learned they’re
identified as “pot luck dinners.” I
really don’t know what is involved in these dinners, as I’ve never been to one
even though I’ve been to tons of church dinners. The term isn’t used as much in the upper east
coast states.
The procedure is rather simple to get things started, and
the burden for the meal is spread out over the entire congregation or
organization. There is a sign-up sheet in
the building where people write down their name, the number of people in their party attending and the food item they will be
bringing to share.
Other names for these homemade delights are referred to
as a spread, Jacob’s supper, faith supper, covered dish, bring and share,
fuddle, carry out, take-away and of course pot luck.
Usually the amount of food to bring should equal the
size of a meal you would make for your own family. Since our family was large, the items we
brought to share would be big enough to feed a troop.
Things to bring might be a casserole of sorts, vegetables
cooked and/or raw, fruit salads, bread/rolls, condiments, butter, beverages,
desserts, meats … you get the gist of it.
Anything that you’d make for your family so to speak is what people
bring.
Paper products, dishes or serving utensils are provided
by the organization holding the event. Cleanup crews are assigned with everyone getting
involved.
How They Started
Now that I’ve said all that, it’s not what I want to talk
about today …but, I thought it would be good to have a base point so you could
relate to the real subject.
My husband and I were talking about some of the past
dinners we’d attended when things just didn’t go as planned. I remember some quite vividly.
Everyone was excited for this particular event to take
place, because it was their first “progressive” dinner. My sister introduced the idea to
the church where she was currently attending. She was used to them from the place of worship we
went to with my parents.
Well, before I go on I suppose I should explain what a
progressive dinner is.
Planning the Progressive Dinner
Actually anyone can have a progressive dinner and to be
honest, they should – often! Here’s how
it works.
There are three courses planned for the event. The appetizer is a salad or soup course, but
not both. Preferably they aren’t so
large that you are too full to eat the rest of the meal.
The second course is the main meal which includes a meat
of sorts, and the third course is the scrumptious dessert served with a hot
beverage.
Not so impressive is it, but here is the key. It’s called a progressive dinner, because all
three courses take place at a different location. The guests “progress” from one food item to
another over the time period of 3-4 hours.
What makes it so much fun? Each course takes place at someone’s house,
not at the church or organization building.
This way people get to know more about one another and it forces us to
clean our houses!
 |
| Hmmm. No, we didn't do this! |
Rules apply as they
would anytime you go to someone’s house for a visit (don’t snoop in the
bathroom cabinets!).
The night of the event he excused himself from the table
and proceeded to the bathroom. It wasn’t
long before we heard a crashing sound … yep, he opened the medicine cabinet!
What was that sound?
To deter our snoop we placed loads of marbles inside the cabinets and
positioned them to pour out when the door was opened or jarred in any way. He returned to the table with a smile on his
face realizing he’d been caught. Such
fun!
Leave it to the Pastor
As I was saying, it was the first “progressive” dinner my
sister’s church had ever planned. They
did things a little different by combining the methods of dinners, but it
worked out great for that congregation.
Sometimes the main meal or meat is provided by the church
(by the women’s groups or special funding for such events), and that’s
what her pastor did. He and his sister
were in charge of preparing, cooking and serving the meat for everyone. A big undertaking indeed.
One of the elders of the church took on the function of
the appetizer menu. It was delicious … cream of broccoli soup. I can’t remember ever having a better soup in
my life. Everyone raved about it as they
returned to the pots on the stove for more and more. If I had to eat one more thing I couldn’t
have because I stuffed myself with her now famous soup.
As we dined she gave those who were interested a tour of
her lovely decorated home. I was in my
glory and enjoyed every moment of my visit. Before the majority of us left we
all had her recipe (which no one could duplicate … we tried!).
Since the Pastor lived next door to the church he had his
course set up in the dining hall. People
had arrived in stages, but it was time to serve the guests.
He walked back to the parsonage to get the meal, but his
hands were somewhat empty when he arrived back at the church. Instead of bringing back any meat, he and his
sister returned with pots of green beans and potatoes – no meat.
“What happened to the meat pastor?”
“We put the new oven on automatic, but forgot to set the
timer!”
It didn’t matter … he had lots of food for Sunday’s
dinner the next day! There were plenty of
other things to eat and besides, the third course –
dessert was still to come!
It’s Not Meatloaf
In a church where I spent the first twenty-five years of
life attending, we had progressive dinners every quarter. Being reserved for the adults I couldn’t wait
until I was old enough to participate in them.
There was one time that the lot of us who joined in on
the progressive dinner, were seated at the dining table eating our fabulously
prepared main course. This couple went
overboard and the table was as stuffed as the people.
While eating the lady next to me quietly asked
(hold on ... punctuation is our friend … ) While eating, the lady next to me quietly asked, “Would someone please pass me the meatloaf?” One by one the people began to snicker, with
the pastor’s wife letting out a belly laugh.
The gracious host informed our church member that she
didn’t make any meatloaf and that the food she requested was pumpkin bread! Maybe they’ll have that at the third course
Sally.
There was another time when … I’d better not share that
one; you might be getting ready to eat.
I can tell you this … please be sure the pets aren’t on the invitation
guest list! (Hint: maybe this will give
you a clue.)
We Gather Together
People of like faith today are no different than those
who walked with Jesus. Our Lord spent
many a meal in the homes of His beloved followers, breaking bread, praying and
giving thanks to the Almighty God. Literally He progressed from house to house
throughout the day, each ministering to the Master in some way or another.
The Lord enjoyed fellowship with His disciples for what
we call “The Last Supper.” People think
it was a somber time, and fail to remember that it ended with singing. (Matthew 26:30) Jesus liked sharing stories,
information and pearls of wisdom with His “friends” as He would put it.
When the Apostles were in the upper room with the other
followers of Christ (see the book of Acts) they remained in fellowship until
the Holy Spirit came to fill them with power.
Besides prayer, good conversation and rejoicing, they ate almost every meal together. That must have been some kind of gathering don’t you
think?
Progressive Favor
Why is it so important that believer’s fellowship outside
the church setting? The Bible tells us
that it is possible to grow in favor with God and man. Take a look at what happened when a bunch of
believer’s got together for a few meals and prayer.
“And they continued steadfastly in
the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and
in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs
were done through the apostles.
Now all who believed were
together, and had all things in common, and sold
their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
So continuing daily with one accord
in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate
their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts
2:40-47 NKJV)
When people of God get together in the name of the Lord,
favor happens among them. Every time we
visited our family of faith in their own environment we learned a great deal
about one another. People received
progressive favor, because we began sharing the good things that God had given
us with one another. This didn’t happen
once in a while, but Daily Favor started to happen among the groups.
We learned about their occupations, hobbies, interests
and in turn friends found out that their brother or sister in Christ has
something they needed and vice versa. I
can recall men showing off their garages, workshops or vehicles. Many gained employment because they never
knew their fellow worshipper needed a job or was even in a certain line of
work.
By the time we were at the third home for that evening, they no longer felt like “newbies” and would show up for the worship services on their own accord. They felt welcome and part of something – a family, God’s loving family who delighted in doing good for one another.
What we can gain from this is that progressive dinners and
progressive favor have been taking place among believers since Jesus dined with
Abraham! What’s taken us so long to get
this concept?
This Week’s Challenge:
Faith, Fellowship, Food:
Instituting Progressive Dining
Visiting with friends over a cup of tea or coffee is one
of my favorite things to do. I’d like doing
the dinner thing having separate families over, but don’t have time to make the
rounds.
Getting involved in progressive
dinners allows all of us to visit, and it takes the pressure off knowing that
we don’t have to “do it all.”
For example, if the Watson’s, Langley's and Riley’s held the dinner one
month, they weren’t on the list for preparing meals for the rest of the
year. Idyllically we could dine out for
free at twelve homes (3 homes, 4 seasons).
Our challenge this week involves 3’s – 3 sets of friends,
3 courses, 3 homes. More can be involved on a larger scale, but most people don’t
have that kind of room in their homes. Don't forget to include friends that are alone, single or widowed to join in on the event.
Actually this challenge will be extended over several
weeks so it can revolve around the fall and winter holidays; I wanted to give
you a head start by opening it up the week before Thanksgiving.
First present this concept to at least three friends
(families) that aren’t related to you.
It’s too easy to let sister do one thing, Mom the main meal and let good
auntie make the luscious dessert. No,
this time we’ll have to trust someone else’s cooking (of course without saying,
lots of prayer goes with this one). A
group of 8-12 people is pretty good and not overwhelming for those who are
preparing the menu.
Seven Steps for a Great
Progressive Dinner
Step 1: Decide the day and time frame keeping it to one
hour per house. Select a day when those
involved don’t have another engagement so all can enjoy the function without
any outside pressure.
Be prepared and don’t make people wait to eat or it will
cause the next step to be behind, etc. Time
frames may be something like this: Luncheon: 12-3 p.m. or Dinner: 5-8 p.m. You decide which works best for the group.
Step 2: Select who will make each course. It’s not a “pot luck” or covered dish dinner. The person in charge of the course makes
their food for the guests. Just a side
note, inquire about any allergies or special dietary needs beforehand.
Remember it’s not a barbecue, but a sit down event. All food must be pre-prepared so there is no
waiting when guests arrive. Also,
remember that you aren’t the MAIN EVENT.
There are three households doing all the work, so just enjoy it!
3 Courses: Appetizer ~ Main
Meal ~ Dessert ~ Bon Appetit
Step 3: Have take-away containers for your guests,
especially if there is a lot of food remaining.
Be generous and don’t hoard the food thinking you’ll have the leftovers
for your family the next day. This event
is about sharing and giving of yourself as a disciple of Jesus.
Step 4: Reserve
clean-up for later. All couples/individuals should attend each course and not keep people waiting for you to finish the dishes. It’s important that your
guests spend time with you, after all that’s why you held this dinner
anyway.
Step 5: Honor your guests with your very best so that it
glorifies the Lord, but do not brag about “all you did” for them. Let them praise you!
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV)
Step 6: If you have pets, please restrict them to another
area so that they do not become the “activity” of your dinner. People may say that they don’t mind, but they
do when it comes to eating without any hair on their plates. Believe me, it will become gossip among the
people if you don’t follow this “no pet” rule.
Step 7: Be respectful of your hosts and thank them for their kindness. Politeness counts even more among
friends. Remember your purpose is to have
godly fellowship, not argue, talk politics or anything else that will cause others
to feel uncomfortable.
Pray over the dinner as it is being organized by the families. On the day of the event, pray before each course you eat. Include a blessing over each household and that they would increase in God's favor.
Make progressive dinners a part of your “new” resolutions,
beginning with this season. Let God work
through you, by sharing what He has so graciously allowed into your life. Fellow Disciples of Christ, believe that His grace,
mercy (unmerited favor) will surely follow you wherever you go, and be upon all that you
do for Him.
“Surely goodness and
mercy (favor) shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD forever.”
(Psalm 23:6 NKJV)
As you go about planning events over the holidays, may God grant progressive favor when you “Gather Together” for
faith, fellowship and food in His name.
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until next time, may you always progress
in God’s favor!
“Fellowship with Me and My favor will progress.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
... and
yes the word "discipled" isn't a word used by the world, but that of
believers.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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