{"id":474,"date":"2023-07-07T14:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T19:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/?p=474"},"modified":"2023-07-07T14:30:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T19:30:09","slug":"setting-the-table-week-by-week-by-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/2023\/07\/07\/setting-the-table-week-by-week-by-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting the Table \u2014 Week by Week by Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"140\" height=\"204\" class=\"wp-image-41\" style=\"width: 140px;float:left;margin-right:10px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/JackiBelile-cropped.jpg\" alt=\"The Rev. Jacki Belile\">We set &#8220;The Lord&#8217;s Table&#8221; week by week by week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way we do it&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We open the church on Sundays (Zoom too), claim aloud His name and His intentions for us, sing and pray and read and share.&nbsp; We gather around in the physical space, we create space to receive and give together with an awareness that it is GOD&#8217;S BANQUET we&#8217;re attending.&nbsp; We tend in many ways the physical structures of our precious building while remembering our worshipful purposes in all things.&nbsp; On the first Sundays we&#8217;re mindful and go deeper as we set aside the time to come closer to the literal table, to each other, to the gifts of bread and cup which convey Christ&#8217;s living presence and the bonds of the New Covenant. We &#8220;say Yes&#8221; to receiving the gifts of grace and strength, the duties of discipleship, the power of the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; We are fed; we feed each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other ways we set His table&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We invite. We invite you and neighbors we don&#8217;t know (yet). &nbsp;We invite to opportunities which we pray will bless with companionship, counsel and courage.&nbsp; We imagine.&nbsp; We experiment with the timeless practices of Church (gatherings for growth).&nbsp; We do what we do here and in the neighborhood &#8220;in His name.&#8221; Not with zeal and preachy energy, but seeking to be companions and to serve in new ways for today. To represent His grace and strength to a wider community in need, and to be changed by the wisdom and lessons we experience on the adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am mindful of our beautiful sanctuary window picturing Jesus with Mary and Martha.&nbsp; Setting all the tables we set can be demanding and we may become tired and frustrated (like Martha).&nbsp; The work is necessary, and so is the&nbsp; centering rest of worship. We need to rest, to be still and prayerful like Mary. &nbsp;As the summer unfolds, some of us are experiencing some relative rest; others need much more. &nbsp;May the image of God&#8217;s banquet intended for you &#8211; to receive and to share &#8211; bring you nourishment this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Christ&#8217;s Peace,<br>Pastor Jacki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We set &#8220;The Lord&#8217;s Table&#8221; week by week by week.&nbsp; One way we do it&#8230; We open the church on Sundays (Zoom too), claim aloud His name and His intentions for us, sing and pray and read and share.&nbsp; We gather around in the physical space, we create space to receive and give together with<span class=\"post-excerpt-end\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/2023\/07\/07\/setting-the-table-week-by-week-by-week\/\" class=\"themebutton\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}