It's been 5 years now, I believe. 5 years of these weekly meals we call Love Feasts over at the Boiler Room. 5 years of gathering the mostly unlikely crowd of ragamuffins to share a meal. And over time, we've watched it become something of a miracle, and something quite other than a typical "free meal for the homeless/underprivileged."

Recently, our friend Sarah Jayne has been working on a short film about the Love Feasts (we can't wait to unveil the finished product to you soon!), in which she's interviewing lots of the regulars to get their thoughts about what Love Feast is and what it means to them. I've been really astounded and brought to tears by their answers. Because they say things like "these people are like my family to me." In fact, a LOT of the comments were about having found something that resembles family. Folks are beginning to feel like they belong with one another, and they come to Love Feast now not just because they need a free meal, but also because they want to be with each other and receive prayer. All glory to God for building something so healing and rich out of something as simple in form as sitting down to eat simple food together off of paper plates and hear the Word preached for 10 minutes!

A recent visitor commented that attending and witnessing a Love Feast was like a preview of the kingdom of heaven.

The Love Feasts have become a central activity and entry point for much of what the Boiler Room does on the westside. The Love Feast is like the entryway of the mansion of God's house. And once we strike up a conversation in that neutral space, we can invite people into the more interior rooms, where things like healing prayer and coffee dates and one-on-one bible studies and sunday gathering attendance happen. It's vital.

I'm writing today not just to tell you about how incredible the story God is writing with Love Feasts is (though it is), but also as an invitation and request for you to join in the fray. We're not looking for a weekly/indefinite commitment, but just some individuals or small groups or family groups who might be interested in hosting a Feast one or two weeks this year.

What that involves is:

gather a group that will serve together (young and old, 6-10 people)
plan a meal
get all the ingredients and cook it up
come to a Love Feast and serve it to everyone, family style, then sit down and join the feast

It's kind of a big project, but it's a real blessing to every group that's ever done it. I'd love for you to come and see.

If you know that you aren't personally in a position to do this right now, pass it on. And pray with us for provision of partners to host in the coming months.

Here are the available dates remaining, after the SBR personally covers one each month:

In February, we have the 13th, the 20th and the 27th open.
In March, we have the 13th and the 20th open.
In April, we have the 10th, the 17th and the 24th open.
(Inquire about dates further out than April)

Thank you for prayerfully considering it. Let us know if this is something you'd like to pursue by emailing stockbridgeboilerroom@gmail.com.

::brooke::