“The New Testament’s book of Acts 2:42 records that early Christians would gather together to worship, pray, and teach. In the years after the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, there were two different but similar customs or early sacraments that are closely related to the more contemporary practice of Communion. These two sacraments could also be called meals, as one was the Lord’s Supper and the other was the Agape feast. In 1 Corinthians 11:20–22, the apostle Paul was critical of the church because they were getting too rowdy and even drunk at what others would later call the Agape love feast: Therefore, when you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s Supper. For at the meal, each one eats his own supper ahead of others. So one person is hungry while another gets drunk! Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on the church of God and embarrass those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for this! (HCSB) Many scholars believe the early church would gather weekly for a common meal, often shared in the homes or house churches. Each meal would include a blessing, the breaking of bread, and a distribution of Communion. Over time this Communion (a Greek word for “fellowship”) became the Eucharist (another Greek word, meaning “grateful” or “thanksgiving”) and the central focus of the weekly gathering. Piecing various historical records together indicates that this weekly common meal, sometimes called the Agape feast, included the distribution of Communion. However, independent of the Agape feast, a separate liturgy developed for Communion that did not include a meal. The Agape feast was truly a feast (think potluck with wine), and, probably because of the abuses similar to those mentioned by Paul hundreds of years earlier, it generally disappeared by the fourth century.”[1] The modern history of the Love Feast began when Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians in Germany introduced a service of sharing food, prayer, religious conversation, and hymns in 1727. John Wesley first experienced it among the Moravians in Savannah, Georgia, ten years later. His diary notes: "After evening prayers, we joined with the Germans in one of their love–feasts. It was begun and ended with thanksgiving and prayer, and celebrated in so decent and solemn a manner as a Christian of the apostolic age would have allowed to be worthy of Christ." It quickly became a feature of the Evangelical Revival and a regular part of Methodist society meetings in Great Britain and throughout the English–speaking world. As Methodists immigrated to North America they made Love Feasts an important part of early American Methodism. While Love Feasts became less frequent in the years that followed, they continued to be held in some places; and in recent years the Love Feast has been revived. Love Feasts have often been held at Annual Conferences and Charge Conferences, where persons may report on what God has been doing in their lives and on the hope and trust they place in God for the future. The Love Feast is also an important part of the practice of Covenant Discipleship groups. Christmas, New Year's Eve or Day, the weekdays of Holy Week, and the Day of Pentecost are also fitting occasions for a Love Feast. A Love Feast may also be held during a congregational supper.[2] Our Agape feast this year will be slightly different than those mentioned above. We will focus on the sacrifice of Christ and on the continual salvific work of God throughout history. Thus, our meal will incorporate some elements from the Jewish Seder Meal, to honor/learn about the Jewish heritage of Jesus and his earliest followers, while also utilizing practices that are distinctly Christian.[3] Our meal will center on the “4 cups” that are present in the Jewish Seder (as they show up briefly in the gospel accounts[4]) as a connection to the Exodus story and Passover meal. This will also point us to recognize God’s work throughout history, which culminates in Jesus. There will also be a time of Communion/Eucharist at the meal, as well as other ritual/worship elements that were likely present at the Last Supper. Our goal for the meal this year is to memorialize the Last Supper and to create a Spiritual experience of remembering God’s work in the past (Exodus story) and Christ's sacrifice (pointing us forward to Easter). [1] https://www.faithdialogue.org/the_catholic_mass_and_agape_feast [2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/the-love-feast [3] When Elements from the Jewish Seder meal are brought in, they will be recognized as such, and different understandings of these elements will be highlighted. It will be clearly noted to which tradition each interpretation belongs. We utilize elements of the Jewish seder as a recognition that our traditions and histories are interwoven, sometimes with great pain, while also recognizing that the Passover Seder is a distinctly Jewish tradition. [4] Luke 22:17-22. Here there is a cup “after the meal” and “before the bread”, though this is unique to Luke.