I’ve been thinking a lot about tables lately. As Director of Faith Formation at a parish, I plan many events, and at least weekly find myself working on seating assignments for small groups. I love bringing people together so we can dialogue, discern, listen, learn, and build a welcoming and loving community of faith. I assist with parish liturgies, and I am moved each time I watch our congregation approach the table of the Eucharist. In the evening when I return to my community house, I am grateful as I take a seat and receive nourishment and care in the form of food and conversation at our dinner table. My identity and approach as a minister is rooted in table fellowship and fostering spaces of prayer, encounter, and deepening relationship with God and community, where everyone can experience and participate in God’s abundant love.
Last month I was grateful to travel to Rome to participate in the opening of the Synod on Synodality. I was transformed and energized by the prayer and conversations I encountered throughout my brief time in Rome, particularly the Ecumenical and Eucharistic celebrations that opened the Synod. My fellow pilgrims (including some CSTM alumni) bonded over shared meals and many moments of grace in Rome.
As I returned to my ministry and daily life, I kept praying for the synodal delegates, and watching updates from afar. I was in awe at the intentional ways the synodal process brought people together at the table. Liturgy and prayer were integral to the daily routine of the synod, including celebrating the Eucharist in both the Eastern and Latin Rites. One of the most exciting innovations was the seating arrangements for the meetings; instead of auditorium style, the delegates sat together at round tables. The entire process of the proceedings was built on small group spiritual conversations, with delegates rotating tables throughout October so they engaged in expansive dialogue during the deliberations. While there is much to still digest from the Synod on Synodality (which won’t conclude until 2024), one key takeaway for me from the proceedings is based on the reminder that prayer, listening, and dialogue together in table fellowship are essential elements of the life of Christian faith. I dream that all the people of this world will come to have the opportunity to engage in prayer and conversation in this way, having the opportunity to know God’s love at the table – to come and see, to come and be seen!
I am lucky, because I already had a chance to experience such Christian community in my formation for ministry at the CSTM. I was especially reminded of this during the past summer, when I had a chance to visit the CSTM after many years away from Boston. I walked in the doors of Simboli Hall, and right into a weekly Liturgy and Lunch. I was warmly welcomed back by staff and faculty, and got to share a meal with current students, hearing about their classes and hopes for their vocational journey. While some things had changed about the CSTM, I was delighted to find that the sparks of joy, encounter, and community over a shared experience of liturgy and lunch remained the same!
During my three years at the CSTM I experienced, in a very intentional and meaningful way, the breadth of the Church’s prayer life. From the joyful rhythm of regularly celebrating the Eucharist together between classes, to special prayer services with beautiful music and powerful preaching, to International Nights that centered the diversity and gifts of the CSTM’s cultural and international communities, I was formed and prepared well to be a leader and facilitator of prayer. The CSTM’s liturgical life gave me a great love for the rich traditions of the Church, a vision and capacity for reverent creativity, and an attention to diversity and inclusion.
Encountering God in prayer at the CSTM was always coupled with opportunities to be formed into a faith and learning community, through spaces for dialogue, collaboration, creativity, fun, and of course – lunch! Each Thursday, during Liturgy and Lunch the same classroom tables where we sat to learn throughout the week would be transformed into our common meal table, where there was always more room to pull up a chair and make the table wider. By breaking bread together at Eucharist and at lunch, my peers became not only friends, but partners in discipleship. While it has been 8 years since we graduated and we no longer live in the same zip code, we pray with and for each other, support one another through challenges, celebrate our joys, give and receive feedback, and walk alongside each other towards a hope filled future, seeking the reign of God.
For me, it all started at the table – at Liturgy, and at Lunch. I carry the formation with me, I carry the friends with me, and I share the gift of this synodal formation whenever I can. I still seek out nourishing tables now, and as a minister I work to create spaces for others to feast at tables of deep encounter with God and community. Together at the table, listening, learning, and loving each other, we learn how to be Church. Whatever table you are at today, may it be life-giving, for you and for all.