Come to the feast

I come from a big family. In fact, I am one of six siblings. What holds us together is my parent's table. At any time and any day there are pots on the stove, and the smells that draw us together. It is the lessons of my parents' table that taught me how central and important it is to be welcomed, embraced and fed.
 
Here at Good Shepherd, the table is just as relevant and central to our experience as a people called to be the light and the salt of the earth. That call brings us together every Sunday for worship and continues with shared fellowship in the Soul Café. There, our activities are rooted in the conviction that, as we sit around the tables in our own kitchens, we have to let go of the anger selfish thoughts that drive us apart. As we feed our bodies in our solidarity and communion with others, our souls are also being fed.
 
Every Thursday evening through June and July, we will break bread and keep claiming a liberated space as we share food, discuss relevant issues that affect our local communities, clarify our thinking and season our lives with the salt of the Good News.

Back in April, we welcomed the most well-known freedom fighter in Mexico, Fr. Alejandro Solalinde. He visited us and gave us an in-depth analysis of what is happening on the immigration front with our southern neighbors and how our witness, in upholding the dignity of every person, is more important than ever.
 
Throughout the summer we will continue to gather and break bread on Sundays as we partner with the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church in July and August. We will send out invitations and notices as we continue cooking to make the difference for a world that needs us direly.

Rev. Juan Carlos Ruiz