This article is in Issue 20 of Torah Sisters Magazine. Click here to subscribe.
By Victoria Reid of WithLoveFromVictoria.com.
With all the creativity on the internet these days, you would think by now we would have moved the traditional pot blessing beyond Grandma’s stuffy church basement.
You know what I’m talking about: the long plastic tables, all the crockpots with their mysterious vats of… well, no one quite knows, but everyone takes a scoop anyway to be polite. There’s the dessert table game of Russian roulette, where that no-bake cookie could be chocolate or full of peanut butter.
Let’s be honest — people end up in that church basement for brief fellowship before quickly skedaddling out of there, and no one really stays because they enjoy the food!
Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way! In fact, having a meal together as a body of Believers is a Biblical principle. Acts 2:46-47 says this of the first Believers in Yeshua: “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
God used the act of sharing a meal together to grow His church. As simple as it seems, sharing a meal breaks down barriers. Not only are we sharing with others what we have to give through the food we brought, but we also see each other in our most human form — needing to be sustained by food. In that state, it’s harder to vilify one another in our minds through judgments on different calendars or what they do or don’t do on Sabbath. Instead, across the table, we see our brothers and sisters just like we are, simply human, being sustained and nurtured through God’s grace.
So, do you want to take the pot blessing out of Grandma’s stuffy church basement? Here are three ways to elevate your next pot-blessing meal.
Have an Assigned Menu
Make the meal more cohesive by assigning a menu for your pot blessing before the event. Split the meal into categories of snacks, salad, main dish, sides, bread, and dessert. Depending on the size of the group, you can adjust. Maybe have three people bring the main dishes, or ask everyone to bring an assigned dish plus a snack. You could give themes to make it even more cohesive and festive, such as a pasta theme, soup theme, Mediterranean, etc. Assigning a menu also prevents having everyone show up with desserts and only one crockpot of a main dish! Another idea is to do a bar style where you provide the main base, and everyone else brings toppings, such as a baked potato bar, waffle bar, pasta bar, deli bar, etc.
Clearly Label Dishes
As much as we all love a good mystery, no one really wants to be holding up the line while staring into an unknown crockpot abyss, trying to figure out what it is and if it should end up on their plate. In a time where allergies are so common, pot blessings can be especially stressful for people who don’t know if something is safe for them to eat! Have a stand-up card for each dish that includes the dish name, who made it, and any allergens it might include. Amy has a free printable on her site to make this easy! If you’re having an outdoor pot blessing and you’re afraid the cards might blow away, cover the tables with cheap dollar store tablecloths and have people stick 2×3 self-adhesive name tags with their dish’s information in front of their crockpot. Another idea is to roll butcher paper down the table and have people write the dish’s name on it wherever they set their crockpot.
Elevate the Aesthetics
Cover those long plastic tables with a tablecloth (whether cloth or plastic!) to instantly make the food line more aesthetically pleasing! To be extra fancy, place several small, sturdy boxes underneath the tablecloth to raise some dishes up for extra visual interest. Arrange little vases of flowers and candles, or trail a string of twinkle lights among the crockpots to dress things up. Play soft classical or worship music in the background where the food is being served. Arrange food trays such as veggies, cheeses, or fruits in aesthetically pleasing charcuterie styles. While it may seem unnecessary to make things look pretty, remember that people eat with their eyes first!
Say goodbye to stuffy, add in some style, and let this be a pot blessing’s era to shine! For more hospitality and hosting ideas, check out my ebook, The Hospitality Handbook, available at www.withlovefromvictoria.com/blog/ebook.
About the Author
Victoria Humphrey Reid is an author of multiple books (withlovefromvictoria.com/blog/ebook), a certified Biblical Life Coach and Art Ministry Facilitator, and is passionate about helping women reach their full potential by knowing who they are in Yeshua. She is a wife to an Air Force veteran, boy mama, and lives out of their RV in Southeast Virginia. You can find her online on Instagram @withlovefromvictoriablog or send her an email at victoria.reid@protonmail.com.