Food and Fellowship

One of my favorite parts of church as I was growing up, was the Wednesday evening fellowship meal.  To me, it wasn’t something separate, it was a part of church life. It was more than a meal.  It was a fellowship meal.  Unlike other parts of church life, we didn’t have to be quiet, or follow a printed agenda, or act in some formal manner.  We could just relax and enjoy each other as we ate together. During this past year, I have been preaching at a Chinese Church as they searched for a Pastor.  One of the features I enjoy is that their church-time does not end with the benediction.  Rather, at the amen, they all leave the Worship Center and go together to the Fellowship Hall for lunch. It seems that our fear of eating together, partly caused by COVID, has caused many churches to discontinue fellowship meals.  I, for one, am ready to begin them again.  I love food and I love fellowship and I love them both best when they are together.  Our Lord’s last earthly meeting with His disciples was around a dinner table (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and one of the first events in heaven will be the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).  In between the two, we ought to enjoy meal-time fellowship more often.