Meal VFCL Reflection Paper

Meal VFCL
Last week, I invited a few of my friends to share a meal with me on campus and spend some quality time engaging in a theological conversation. Two of these friends are students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary—both Master of Divinity students—Sara Jones and Becca Cali. In addition, I also invited three other friends: Vannae Savig, a colleague who serves as a pastoral intern at my field site, the Evanston Vineyard Church. She is an African American, is a married and has a five-year-old daughter); Yanning Yu, a Ph.D. student from China currently studying at Northwestern University’s School of Social Policy and a leader at the Northwestern Chinese Christian Fellowship; and Daniel Tucker, Ph.D. student in the Department of Linguistics at Northwestern University a who attends Northwestern’s Graduate Christian Fellowship (GCF).
Knowing these friends’ gifts, their understanding and the motivation that they bring to

serve the communities that they represent, I interacted with them from a theological stance. I asked them questions that related to the topic of using our gifts for the betterment of the community they are associated with, through worship or people on a personal and/or professional level as neighbors. This self-reflective, contemplative style of group discussion was a direct application of what I learned in a course reading entitled, The Abundant Community. Conscious effort was made to try to connect the theological with the secular, particularly in the context of discussing theology with those steeped in a profoundly humanist tradition of intellectual pursuit.
Much to my surprise, all of my friends demonstrated a great deal of theological sophistication in our conversation.

Sara Jones, for example, mentioned that we as humans have been gifted in so many ways and are called to give abundantly. She said that for a Garrett student like her, she answers this calling by cooking meals at Hilda’s Place Transitional Center. Becca Cali mentioned that she feels convicted to be ever giving to those that are in need: for instance, spending time with those who are confined in their homes, which in her context was serving as an intern at the Presbyterian Homes. Focusing on her role in ministry, she said that she considers herself a story keeper, while the people that she serves are the story tellers. In her own words, she says: “I have a treasure box. I open the chest, display the stories to myself and then put them back. There are some stories that have to stay in there.” Furthermore, she called for followers of Christ to have an abundant spirit to serve people, for nothing is possible without God’s

grace.
For Vannae Savig, showing hospitality to those at the Evanston Vineyard Church, especially to the Spanish speaking congregation called La Vina, is positively overwhelming. Pointing to the difference that can be made through association with the people she worships with, Vannae spoke about “embracing” and physical affection, stating that “it brings the kind of non-physical realm to the physical world.” Yanning Yu mentioned that her group is a support group that receives Chinese students from the international airport, caring for them from the moment they arrive in the U.S. The people in her group help these students with everything from grocery shopping, to applying for social security numbers, to finding places for fun and recreation like restaurants. This fellowship is open to believers and non-believers alike, and exists to help the Chinese community feel supported, loved and welcomed. Daniel Tucker mentioned that his group holds inclusive large group events approximately once a quarter. For these group-wide gatherings, all of the small groups come together to engage in discussions with guest speakers. He mentioned further that for one of their events, the Christian Graduate Fellowship GCF invited one of Garrett’s professors, Dr. K. K. Yeo, to provide his own unique insights on the New Testament.
In all the views shared by my friends at this communal meal, I am reminded of a message in the reading by McKnight and Block that involves focusing on gifts of its members, nurturing “associational life and offering hospitality—the welcoming of strangers.” Indeed, this experience has taught me that these priorities of theological reflection extend beyond the seminary, and seem to be core to the Christian experience whatever the context in which one finds him- or herself.