Community Dinner Program
Program Design and Implementation by -
Ekklesia
Inner City Ministries - Project417 - The Nehemiah Effect
Over the years Project417 has helped several inner city and suburban churches implement a "community dinner" program to serve meals to low income families, people living in crisis and the homeless. Three of the programs continue to operate every week serving hundreds of guests nourishing meals and an inviting atmosphere. The longest running is at St. Stephen in the Fields Church in the Kensington Market area of Toronto. For more than 15 years, a breakfast program there Saturdays and now Sundays serves 20,000 meals a year. The Project417 Homeless Sandwich Run team leaders first started this breakfast program to immediately follow the Friday overnight street outreach which ran from 2 - 6am. The congregation at St. Stephens caught the vision and have shown real community commitment in keeping the breakfasts running even through financial hardships. The Knox Youth Dinner (formerly Knox Out-of-the-Cold) at Knox Church Toronto on Spadina, serves dinner every week Tuesday nights from November to April in the coldest weather months to more than 120 street involved, low income and homeless youth. They also operates a food bank the same nights for recently housed youth as well. The newest church partnership, in its second year, is in the Bloor West neighborhood serving upwards of 75 hungry guests every week, year round. Volunteers are always needed ...or - Host a dinner at your church
The Community Dinner Program has been carefully designed by Ekklesia Inner City Ministries to engage the caring church in reaching out to socially isolated and homeless people, or those living in poverty and social or inadequate housing. The goal is for the church members to become personally involved in helping the less fortunate by hosting a family style dinner at the church. The guests are from the local community. They could be from homeless or family shelters, group homes or social housing projects. Guests could be single adults, single parents with children or even whole families. The foundation is the church acting as the welcoming heart of a community. (which is where we get the name "Ekklesia").
Guidelines:
1. Dinner is prepared ahead of time. The preparation can be done by those who will be hosting or by any individuals in the congregation who are interested. (There could be anywhere from 10 to 100 guests, depending on volunteer response and space).
2. Tables are set up for seating of no more than eight each. This will allow both guests and hosts to sit together. Any more than eight will make it difficult for getting to know each other and dialoguing. Assign a host family for each table.
3. A suggestion that has worked well is that hosts decorate their table as they may have it in their home. This may consist of table cloths, silverware, napkins, candles or decorations (encouraged if the dinner is happening around a specific season/festival). In the past some hosts have brought in their own dishes and tablecloths, however, many churches have very nice table cloths and good dishes and the hosts prefer the uniformity. This is entirely up to those involved.
4. It is expected that when guests arrive there will be some time between their arrival and the meal being served. It works well to have some punch and cheese/crackers (or some sort of refreshment/snack) during this time. This can be an excellent opportunity for introductions and welcomes.
5. It is encouraged to serve the food “family style” and dishes can be prepared in the kitchen ahead. This again, encourages a sense of community, rather than lining up to be served like a soup kitchen.
6. There is no assumption that all the guests (if any) are Christians or open to hearing the gospel. That being said, the gathering is happening in the Christian community and there is no issue with respect to Grace being said. One individual can be assigned to say the blessing for everyone.
7. Depending on the response from your congregation, you may have more people interested in participating in this dinner than there is opportunity to host. However, there are many other opportunities for service, such as: Coordinator; Food donation; Food preparation; Set up/take down; Clean-up; Dishwashing (especially if using church dishes etc.); Child care (see below); Transportation (some guests may require transportation); Music (optional such as a pianist, musicians, CD player)
8. Leftovers are usually offered to the guests, however, this is entirely up to the discretion of the host community.
CHILD CARE - This can be a way to get your youth involved in this event. Although it is a wonderful experience for the individuals/families to be invited to such a dinner, the parents are often in crisis situations and are in need of a rest, some time to relax and enjoy adult conversation! Therefore, having an area (a room or a section of a room) where there are toys and activities (supervised by responsible youth/adults from your community) makes this time not only enjoyable for the parents but also for the children. This service will be necessary before the meal as final preparations are happening as well as during the dinner (children get bored at the table!) and after the meal before everyone goes home.
CONCLUSION: The most important thing is to be welcoming and to engage with the guests in terms of conversation and to encourage them in whatever capacity you feel led. Remember, we are Christ’s ambassadors. Feel free to inform the guests of upcoming services/events at your church. Do invite them to come back to church! Offer to meet them at church before service.