According to John 13, on the last night of his life, Jesus gave us a new commandment, or “mandate,” that we love one another. As Jesus sat at the table with his friends, he was continuing what was central to his ministry. The meal they shared that night was not a symbolic piece of bread and sip of wine; it was a full meal. Jesus eats with all kinds of people. We believe he shared meals with people that weren’t always accepted or understood as a way to break down boundaries. In the sharing of the bread and wine, Jesus reminded the disciples that it was about feeding people. This year we will once again remember the specialness of this night but from the safety of our own homes. Instead of gathering together for a meal, and a sacred time of foot washing and then the traditional stripping of the altar, we are asking that each Trinity household find a way to prepare a meal, read the sacred texts and perhaps offer foot washing to each other to remember the importance of servant leadership in our walk as disciples.
We have prepared this booklet to support you and make some suggestions for how you might want to bless some bread and wine (or juice) as we do when we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist.