Faith@5 Reflection
Last year, in response to the challenges of ministering to families in a post-COVID world, St. Cross started a monthly, family-oriented service called Faith@5. It is a “dinner church” service that takes place on Sunday evenings in our Parish Hall and is designed to equip families to practice their faith at home. We sit for a meal, gathered around tables like a family might gather at home around the dining table. We engage in guided discussion related to the lectionary readings and conclude with the Eucharist. In this busy world where kids are overprogrammed and adults are over-committed, we figured the best thing we could offer is a chance to sit and be and share a meal together as a family.
One of my favorite aspects of this service is that it provides a space for folks to connect with one another and with God in an informal setting. Doing church in the Parish Hall around tables provides a fun and relaxed atmosphere for people of all ages to experience the sacred and holy. After our last Faith@5 two weeks ago, a parent emailed the clergy to tell us that when her daughter got in the car to go home following the service, she proclaimed, “I love church.”
I am deeply grateful for all the children, teens, and parents who have helped make Faith@5 possible – those who have volunteered to play music, to greet folks as they arrive, to teach lessons, to setup, and to clean up after the service. The last Faith@5 of this program year was held earlier this month, but we look forward to God’s movement with this ministry in the year to come.
