Why our church emphasizes a meal where all are welcome.
The room was dark, and the lights were dim. Between the lobby and the sanctuary, I (Jamaal) was reminded by five people that there was no need for me to dress up to come to church. One member even said, “Dude, you can relax here.”
Okay, I thought. They didn’t realize I had come straight from preaching at a local Black church. I had rushed to this service because a friend had been inviting me for months to check out his church. After putting it off, I thought I might as well go and surprise my friend.
Once I found my friend and my seat, I felt weird but excited. The weirdness was because I was the only person of color there and the only one dressed up for church. The excitement came from the energy in the room. You could tell people knew they were about to experience something thoughtful and beneficial. I came with this sort of excitement too because the church had an excellent reputation not only for faithfulness to Scripture but also for its contributions to the community.
The time of worship and the sermon were spiritually uplifting. I was spiritually fed, and I could see why people spoke highly of the church. Its leaders were reaching a certain demographic of people, and they were trying to reach the rest of the community as well.
Then, after the sermon, something strange happened. People started walking to the front of the sanctuary, just like the congregants in my historically Black church did during the time of offering. But this wasn’t time to tithe, and there wasn’t any upbeat music playing. They were going to the front to take and eat, because it was time for Communion.
Those who participated in Communion tore off a piece of bread from a common loaf. They then dipped the bread in wine or …