Sustenance and Spirituality inspire Christy Wright (STH ’18)
Sustenance, spirituality inspire Christy Wright, coordinating pastor of Simple Church Grafton and Worcester
A good meal can nourish both body and soul.
That especially matters during a time when people hunger for connection.
The mix of sustenance and spirituality inspires Christy Wright, the newly named coordinating pastor of Simple Church Grafton and Worcester, which has unofficially been called the “dinner church.’’
Church members worship at a weekly meal, where they gather for food and fellowship.
“It builds community, and that’s sacred,’’ she said.
The weekly meals reflect the themes of the Last Supper. In the Bible, when Jesus eats bread and drinks wine, then tells his disciples to do this in his memory,
The “bread’’ that begins the Simple Church meal can be anything including soup and berries, she said. After a short devotional, conversation follows. Reflecting the Biblical phrase “when supper was ended He took the cup,’’ the meal concludes with a beverage, “anything from a cup tea to seltzer.’’
These days, the meal is very different. Members share recipes early in the week, then connect for dinner over Zoom.
“Zoom is not the same thing,’’ as in-person meetings, she said. “It’s very, very different. But, we know we’re protecting ourselves and our wider community,’’ by staying apart during the pandemic.
The church is part of the United Methodist Church, although you don’t have to be a member to join the dinners, she said.
“It’s an open table,’’ she said. “You can just come as you are.’’
She also serves as pastor of George Whitefield United Methodist Church in West Brookfield.
Appropriately enough for the leader of the dinner church, food has been a major ingredient in her background.
She also serves as food rescue coordinator with Lovin Spoonfuls, an organization in Boston that provides food pantries with healthy food donated by grocery stores, produce wholesalers and bakeries, among others.
She drives a refrigerated truck in Framingham, Natick and Sudbury, transporting good, but unused, food that would be thrown away. This effort reflects her passion to “bridge the gap between abundance and need.’’
“Forty percent of food produced in the U.S. goes to waste,’’ she said. “We want to close that gap.’’
She also hosts Fully Yours, a podcast on “food, the sacred and ordinary moments of extraordinary belonging.’’
While she was in seminary and shortly after she graduated, she worked as a shift manager at Starbucks, a dinner cook at Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in North Andover, and as front of house lead, bartender and tour guide at Nashoba Valley Winery.
Her experience with food service and with service to others makes this Grafton job “the culmination of my life’s work,’’ she said.
The post runs through at least June 2021, but she hopes her tenure lasts longer. A permanent appointment would be “my dream,’’ she said. She now lives in West Brookfield, but would potentially move closer in time.
If the position becomes more permanent, she hopes to venture into new projects including a possible soup ministry, since soups are easy to make and freeze well, she said.
She is hopeful the new year brings a reopening of the world.
“I’m pretty optimistic,’’ she said. “We can really see some hope happening.’’
In the meantime, she encourages those who may feel lonely and isolated to consider gathering for a virtual meal.
“If you can’t go home, pass around recipes, maybe chop onions while you’re on Zoom,’’ she said. “That’s a really beautiful way to be together.’’
This article was originally published here, by The Grafton News.