A new Maundy Thursday service

We had a new experience at Guilford Church last evening: a Maundy Thursday service that combined a meal with a service of worship and communion. It was held downstairs around a U-shaped table, with an altar at the open end, and mostly by candlelight. This was not a Passover Seder - although there was a reference within it to the Passover. Our Pastor, Elisa Lucozzi, has been convinced that "Christian Seders," i.e., Seder meals led by Christians, not Jews, are a form of "appropriation," i.e., the taking over of another religious tradition in a way that is not fully authentic snd faithful to the original intent. It also carries a whiff of what is called "supercessionism," i.e., the belief that Christians have replaced Jews as the people of God. Supercessionism lies at the foundation of centuries of violent anti-semitism on the part of Christians. The best thing to do is to take part in a Seder meal sponsored by a Jewish family or community. That is what Ellen will do tomorrow when she joins with the Feinland family for their Seder which will be held in a restaurant in Stanford, CT, where Doris Feinland, Jerry's mother, lives. I will stay "home," - I'll actually be with John and Cynthia at their place. I want to save energy for a full Easter Sunday when I lead the Dummrston Choir. ************************ For the paat several years (before the pandemic), the Guilford Church held a Seder, led by Margaret Dale Barrand, but using the traditional Haggadah for the Seder, and then after that we would go up into the sanctuary for an "Office of Tenebrae (Darkness)" service- i.e., a reading of the Passion Narrative accompanied by the extinguishing of lights. What we did last night was sort of a combination of those two ideas. We ate and worshipped around the table. Ellen and Robin were primarily responsible for the food - there were three platters of food, served family-style: A platter of vegetables, pita bread and dips, a platter of falafel, spinich pie cubes and sausages, and a platter of "sweets" - cake, sugared dates and grapes. It was all beautifully presented and delicious. As people entered, they were met by someone who offered to wash their hands, echoing the ritual of foot-washing that Jesus carried out with his disciples at the Last Supper in John, chapter 13. The person whose hands were washed would then offer to wash another's hands, etc. That set the tone for everything that followed. About 30 people participated, and there were songs and anthems interspersed through the service. There were several Taizé chants, and two favorite shape-note hymns, All in the Morning, and Morning, which is one of the most powerful and somber hymns ever written. It was not always clear when we should be eating, so people may have eaten less. But that can be clarified if this becomes a tradition.

People seated around the tables.

The falafel/spinich pie/sausage platter.

Robin Davis preparing to wash someone's hands.

The vegetable/pita bread platter. The dips were in separate bowls.

The multiple examples of the three types of platters waiting to be served to the tables.