'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!!

Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder

How is this seder different from other Christian seders?

Years ago, I decided to create a seder that would reveal Judaism's legacy to Catholics by highlighting the symbolic (and liturgical) similarities of our faiths. I also wanted Catholics to better understand the history of Jewish-Catholic tensions and to appreciate the challenges of reconciliation. And, I wanted to make all this available in a book that provided practical instructions for creating a seder in either a parish or home setting. Not too ambitious, eh?

I'm happy to report that more parishes adopt Come to the Table each year. During the past three years, I've received lovely notes from people who have used this seder service at home. I'm starting to hear from catechists who are using this little book to teach about the Eucharist throughout the year. Last year, I had the privilege of presiding at a parish-wide seder at the Church of St. Luke (Plainfield, NJ).

This year's liturgical calendar crunch seems to be throwing everyone into a tizzy about whether they can, in fact, put together a seder at this point. I say you can! Why not? The book provides the service -- you just have to pull together the food, the table settings, readers, and a presider. People will show up for this event.

And yes, churches do receive a discount on bulk orders. Please contact me directly: meredith@meredithgould.com. And yes, you can get an autographed copy if you buy directly through Plowshares Publishing.