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Love Feast
Our Perfect example: John 13:14-17 reads
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14: If I then,
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet.
15: For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to
you.
16: Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17: If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
In an act of great
love, Jesus gave his life for ours. The Brethren, as Jesus’ followers,
love God and each other—and take that love into the world. Once or twice
a year, Brethren celebrate what the earliest Christians called agape:
the out flowing love that seeks not to receive but to give.
Jesus taught us this practice, sharing with his disciples a last, loving
meal the night before he died. He washed the disciples’ feet, ate supper
with them, sought to draw them closer into the fold of his love, and
offered them the symbolic bread and cup.
During love feast, we repeat these simple, meaningful acts. After
reconciling any discord among ourselves, we lovingly wash each other’s
feet, then enjoy a meal together. Quietly we share communion, the bread
and the cup that remind us of Jesus’ great gift; we renew our commitment
to follow his example of sacrificial love. Congregations may also
observe the Eucharist, or bread-and-cup communion, at other times and in
other settings.
Love feast closes with a hymn; then follows the humble task of cleaning
up, in which all are invited to participate. When we leave the feast,
reunited in our dedication to Christ and to each other, the deep,
nourishing love goes with us.
The Love Feast is a very serious and sacred part of our church year.
Until 1966, Love Feast was performed in Sanctuary, where the backs of
the pew folded back, and were secured by a wooden pen and used as
tables. At that time, only adults were allowed to participate and the
children sat quietly in the back of the church and observed. It was
told that there were also many spectators who came and watched, filling
the back of the church. The meal was prepared in the small kitchen
(present day - the room off to the back of the pulpit) on a large wood
cook stove. The beef was cooked in a huge iron kettle. The communion
dishes were handmade of tin and one cup was shared by everyone at each
table. Eventually, the tin was replaced by glass dishes.
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"Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men."
Mark 1:17
