“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,” – Acts 2:46b
What is Tables of 8? Tables of Eight is an opportunity for couples/singles to share a meal with up to 7 other members of the congregation at least 5 times over the course of a year. The emphasis of these gatherings is on fellowship so there’s not necessarily an accompanying bible study, nor is there an expectation of culinary perfection. Our goal is “cross-fertilization” (get it?) or simply to get to know each other across age, stage, in or out of town, 9 or 11am service,… and invite the Holy Spirit to be present among us as we break bread.
How does it work? When you sign up, you will be placed in a table group. Each group will have a coordinator who will initiate the conversation to schedule your first dinner date. The dinner is provided by the whole group with each person being assigned a different dish for each gathering: main dish, salad, dessert, side, and drinks. Group members will rotate the opportunity to host as well. We want to give you some structure to begin with, but at the end of the day we recognize that each group will discover what works best for them.
How long do we meet? The length of each gathering typically lasts an hour or two. After a year of dinners however, each group is encouraged to shuffle the deck, to shake it up, to mix it up with other the groups and get to know other members. That’s not to say your group cannot continue to meet. I can tell you about a movie group, a wine tasting group, etc. that have been gathering for years. We just need to keep in mind our goal of “cross-fertilization.”This also provides opportunities for new people to join the fun.
What if I’m not a cook or a host? There is no expectation of culinary perfection, it is perfectly okay to bring things purchased at a store. Similarly, if having people in your home is uncomfortable, we have a restaurant option for folks who would prefer to gather in that space.
What about children? It may be that there are children in the host’s home; what a blessing! Certainly, as a group, you can explore the possibility if/when/how to include any children. Our goal in this first year is to get our adults sharing fellowship together.
When will it start? This is primarily a feeler to gauge Calvin’s interest. So, if you are interested or have questions about this opportunity, please contact Calvin’s office. If we get enough interest, we’ll start as soon as we can. There likely will be some bugs to work out in this first year, but this could certainly be an experience of blessing as we seek to find ways to connect members across Calvin and find our way in deeper relationship with one another as sisters and brothers in Christ.