Friday, March 5, 2010

'Tis the Season for Shameless Self-Promotion

Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder was first published in 2004 and I note how with every passing year, more churches contact me about including a Sedar as part of their Holy Week observances.

Some parishes view this as an opportunity to promote family faith formation, others focus on making the Seder an opportunity for specific groups to engage in deeper inquiry about their Jewish heritage.

I treasure the wonderful conversations I'm privileged to have with those in charge of organizing their parish's Seder ─ sometimes at the last possible moment, which then leads to frantic conversations about shipping books really really fast. Most of all, I appreciate spirited follow-up notes about how it went.

This year, I have a pretty good idea of how it'll go at a church in South Carolina, thanks to email received earlier today:
Our pastor told us he wanted a Last Supper Table...set up as Jesus and his disciples would have left it the night after they left Seder. He wanted it hidden behind a curtain and at the end of the Seder, we are to open the curtain showing the empty table and that would be the big ending to our Seder...

Then, the next day, we will place the Tabernacle in the middle of this table (we will still keep all the dishes there) and the Blessed Sacrament will be placed there during the Holy Thursday procession. Adoration will be held there...It will be beautiful! Think of the symbolism!

How could I not? I've requested pictures!!