The Banquet Of Hospitality

On Saturday we were able to experience the Sioux Falls community by volunteering at The Banquet a food kitchen the offers free meals throughout the week. What’s unique about this The Banquet is their approach to their service. It is important for them to serve enough food so that everyone is fed but what is more important is letting those who are being served know that their lives are important as well as the hospitality they are able to give.
The dinning hall was clean and it was evident that there had been much time and effort put into making the place inviting for all people. Each table had a fresh bouquet of flowers placed in the center. There was a table overflowing with loaves of bread and bagels donated by community businesses that were to be taken home. We were encouraged to make sure that our food serving duties were met but more importantly we needed to make time to sit down with the guests, eat with them and talk with them. All of this happened
It was the conversations with the guests that I found to be the most exciting. This is where the giving and receiving of hospitality takes place. I approached this opportunity thinking that I was going to serve. Miss Service of the year. They need my service, they need food and I am going to give it! Ok maybe that is at the extreme end of my approach and thinking but isn’t that how we approach service sometimes? What about the gifts of those being served?
The people coming to The Banquet to eat physical food were able to feed us with spiritual food. As we sat down to eat with each other to share stories and to encourage one another, God’s vision for Shalom community was being fulfilled. The boundaries between those serving and those being served were broken. We were able to see each other as God’s creation rather than a stranger. We served each other, we learned from each other, we fellowshipped together.
I walked away from that day with a new outlook on service. I want to approach each opportunity I have to share my stories and my vision for Shalom community by reminding myself that there are many stories and many gifts that I need to be willing to receive.