I know full well that “Community Dinner” probably just sounds like a hippie Portland name for the ordinary potluck. Its kinda true, actually. It also misses the boat entirely. The potluck as I knew it was fine enough, but the same people that already do everything at church ended up doing all the setup, teardown, cleanup and planning.

The burden was spread thin compared to all other church events but it was still a headache for the overworked minority. So in an attempt to redeem what some of us knew as the church potluck we came up with the community dinner.

Here’s the vital stats; -We all bring food and drink, cook it at home if you like. Cook it at the house if you like. Bring the utensils necessary for cooking it (need a wok to make your noodles? Bring it!) and get some people to help you do it when you get there. If you hope someone makes your favorite dish, make it yourself, let everyone else try it out!

-We all set the table/pass out and brings plates/utensils (we’d hate to fill up landfills with our paper and plastic products wouldn’t we?)

-We all clean up the house and kitchen afterward, together Feel free to throw dishes in the dishwasher and run a load. Ideally the hosts will do none of the cleanup. For that night the hosts kitchen becomes your kitchen, our kitchen.

-We all enjoy good food, good conversation, and create shared memories. Community dinners have shown themselves to be central to life in Evergreen. If you’re new, it’s a chance to meet people and be met. For those of us that have been around for a bit, meet some new people! : )

At a base level, community exists around shared experience. Whether that is an intentionally spiritual gathering or not, everything we do together tells of something greater than us. Meals are inherently spiritual, they are communal, they are good.