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The Guild and the Kitchen Table

REV. ALISON MEHIGAN

This meditation was used for an informal Communion at a Church of Scotland Guild dedication service, but it can be used and adapted to any informal Communion worship. A simple, old, bare kitchen table was used, and, after the meditation, the members of the Guild helped to set the table for Communion.

READING: Exodus 25:23–30 – The Table

As I stand at this table, we all realise it is not made of fancy acacia wood. The mouldings and trims are not of pure gold. In fact, the table itself is nothing special. Just wood, solid though, and with the odd scratch and dent that comes with the passage of time.

So often I have sat at my table at home, with a mug of coffee in one hand and a chocolate biscuit sitting sadly within too easy reach of the other. Nothing strange in that, you might think – an everyday occurrence in many homes.

In our homes, it is so often the kitchen table that is at the centre of all activity. When we have visitors, it doesn’t seem to matter how clean and tidy we make the rest of the house; people will always congregate in the kitchen, no-one wants to miss out on what’s going on there.

The table is more than a surface from which we eat meals, though it is that as well. It is a place where much conversation takes place, both during and following meals.

In younger days, it was a place where I sat when my knees were scraped from a fall, and my mum would clean me up and tend to me before I dashed out the door to do more damage.

It was a place of fun and play, anything from a ship to a tent, and certainly a fall-back hiding place if all other places failed and I was being sought!

In fact, in my schooldays, it was the place I studied for my exams, the other prime spots having been booked by my elder brothers and sister. In truth, I preferred the kitchen table, though I didn’t let on to the others, for then I was always at hand when my mum was dishing out special treats.

The table was the place where my mum baked all the bread and, no doubt, unknown to us children, thumped out all her frustrations with routine daily life.

The table was a place where emotions could run high, and tea and sympathy were dished out in gallons. It was the place of comfort and compassion. It was where you discussed the latest fall-out with your best friend at school and where you discussed, in confidence, your first crush!

The table was all these things and more, for it was also the place that we as a family held hands, and said grace, and gave thanks for what God had provided.

And so, as we gather here this evening, I am ever mindful of how this humble table is symbolic of our Church, and of the Guild. Each, places where people gather, where there is a sense of community, a sense of belonging and sharing. Places where meals are served. Places where the Word is read and prayers are said and hands are held. Places where the heart can be opened and there will be no condemnation. Places where the community can be themselves and experience the sense of love and fellowship – and, in the stillness, sense God’s presence.

Well, what then is our role? What are we expected to do when tending this symbolic table? Chief cook or bottle-washer? Yes, sometimes, but perhaps more importantly we are each called to serve.

Serve the table, clear the mess, listen to the conversations and offer whatever assistance is required. Of course, we can join in with the moments of laughter and tears too, but we are also there to enable and to encourage the growth of this family. And we must also make sure the family offers a sincere welcome to all who come.

This table may not be made of acacia wood. The cup and plate are not solid gold. But this humble table is central to this community – this community of people who have a sense of God’s presence.

It is a place of fellowship, a place where people not only have a relationship with one another but also have a living and personal relationship with God.

The gathering therefore becomes a place where people are united and nurtured – and, more than that, a place where they are fed and rested and strengthened by God’s presence.

And, as we sit round this table this evening, always keep in mind that everyone gathered here is basically just the same. Each of us on a journey with God, each of us led by the Spirit, and each of us inspired by the teaching and actions of Jesus.

A family of people on a journey of faith.

Welcome, welcome to this table.

After the table was set, a simple Communion liturgy was used, and the minister served each person personally.