It’s a very limited commitment: try it for just four meals.

Breaking Bread offers a wonderful opportunity to get to know and enjoy members of our parish family during casual meals. “One of the most intimate ways to get to know someone is to invite people into your home,” says Jeanie Schuldt, a Breaking Bread co-organizer.

“When people join the parish, it’s a great way to get to know other people,” says Jeanie. “Once new parishioners get to know people, they join other ministries and groups. It can be hard to get to know people at such a large parish.”

Participants are randomly assigned to small groups of six to eight adults who meet in one another’s homes on their own schedule. Typically 12-15 groups are formed, but there can be as many groups as people sign up. Each host provides the meal, but there is no other agenda other than to arrive with a smile and share with each other over a simple meal. Even a Breaking Bread prayer is provided.

Casual meals and simple settings are the least stressful; the emphasis is on socializing. In the past year, a single parishioner hosted his Breaking Bread group at his apartment and served dinner on folding tables in a parking space adjacent to the apartment.

Breaking Bread is for everyone: new or longtime parishioners, single or married, young or old. These social meetings are a tradition at Resurrection that dates back to the beginning of the parish in the 1990s: “Fellowship and a welcoming attitude toward all have been goals of Church of the Resurrection since our earliest days. The Golf tournament, Coffee and Donuts after Mass and Breaking Bread dinners kept us bonded to each other,” according to an early parish history. In past years, fall and spring sessions were offered, but currently only one session is offered, beginning in the fall. Notices about sign-ups are sent in emails, posted in the bulletin, weekly parish emails as well as on the website.

Jeanie’s co-organizer is Gerry McGuire; together they assemble the groups, ideally with couples that have not previously dined together. “It can be tough for singles, but we try to pair singles up so that they can co-host and help each other reduce the effort.”

If you’d like to sign up for Breaking Bread, contact Jeanie Schuldt at 503-799-2598 or jeanie.schuldt83@gmail.com, or Gerry McGuire at 503-343-0841 or gerry.mcguire@columbiacorp.com.