On World Communion Sunday one of our newest friends at FCCSJ, Kelly Almon,
served us bread right out of the oven for communion. You could smell the sweet aroma
of this labor of love during the service. Even better was the the story she shared about
what was behind her fantastic bread-baking abilities – a story of real communion. It all
started her sophomore year in college. Here’s her story as she tells it…
My love of communion doesn’t come from the ritual instituted within the confines of a church, but it was in a type of communion that I first felt true Christian community. My sophomore year I met a group of friends who graciously included me in their circle. We all went about our lives, having lots of study parties, crying sessions, and generally being stressed out over achievers (of course). The importance of rest became apparent to us all when I began to bake bread as
a method of relieving my own stress. The bread acted like a magnet – pulling us all away from whatever we were doing, whatever we were studying or working on. We would then share this bread together. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. I felt a greater sense of community and God’s presence there than I had in any church. Sometimes we would talk about anything and everything and sometimes we would just sit there in silence, tearing pieces of bread off the loaf we all circled around, dipping it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was, and is, the only way I know how to practice Christianity, to be a Christian: through community with others.
Kelly’s story speaks to our longing to really share life together; First Christian Church of San Jose is seeking to meet that longing. In October, we ended a 15 years of volunteer groups partnering with us to serve meals to low income people. We are launching a new ministry in its place this fall called Recovery Café, ministering to and with unsheltered persons looking to overcome addiction. Until the Recovery Cafe opens, we want to use this time to build community our partners in launching this project. So we’ve begun having a weekly Community Meal, causing us to slow down and really
break bread and build relationships with our new partners.
The Disciples recognized Jesus in the Road to Emmaus story in the breaking of bread; very often we recognize the humanity and divinity in one another in the same way, and we share Christ with each other in our sharing of bread and our sharing of our stories.
I agree with Kelly – “it is the only way I know how to practice Christianity, through community with others.”
Prayer: God, help me bring your presence into the world through my efforts to
create community.
Amen.
Dana Bainbridge serves as pastor of First Christian Church of San Jose