Last Saturday, my family and I attended the wedding of our good friends Diana and Cliff. I wish all of you could’ve been there. It was one of the most beautiful examples of Love Feast I have ever witnessed. They live in one of the ghettos of Baltimore City. They chose to live there. When they were planning their wedding, they knew without a doubt, they wanted it to be an open invitation to all their neighbors.
We all know, most weddings are events for family and friends of the bride and groom. Everyone dresses to the nines, fine food is prepared and the environment is transformed to reflect that of fairy tales.
I was asked to help plan this wedding. As I met with Diana and Cliff, I quickly understood what they wanted to do…they wanted it to cook it up, Love Feast Style! The park was a run down area in the middle of their neighborhood. They tried to track down the “rightful” owners to obtain a permit. Not even the city wanted to claim ownership. They decided to press forward. They ordered the tables, chairs, linens and a port a potty. For food, they wanted their neighbors to really enjoy what was served. They found a true soul food caterer and had her prepare baked chicken, meatballs, macaroni and cheese (the best I’ve ever had!), green beans and incredibly moist corn bread! They asked the caterer to serve the guests and to bring containers for leftovers to be given out to any one who asked. Diana’s dress was beautiful. The bridesmaids were stunning. The men even cleaned up nice! When thinking about decorations, Diana and Cliff decided to keep it simple. The reality was, they were in an urban setting with poverty all around. The thing that would bring beauty to this place, was the people…the Love Feast.
We arrived the morning of the wedding and filled many trash bags. We set up tables and chairs. Placed teapots full of bright red roses all around. We heated up the coffee and got to know the caterers. Around noon, the place began to fill up. There was family in from California, trying to stay warm. Other family hailed from close to the Antarctic…they were loving the warm weather! The neighbors began to join in. Some didn’t know what was going on. One guy asked me if this was a movie set. “Why would any one want to get married here? In this run down park?” I said, “This is their neighborhood and Cliff and Diana want to celebrate with their neighbors.” I think most people didn’t know what to expect. There were homeless people there. Hungry people there. Drug addicts there. Kids, grandmoms and teenagers there. There were business owners, unemployed and baristas there.
As the ceremony began and we all took our seats, I glanced around at every table. Every table had a different story to tell. Each table was blended.
The day went on and we all shared in the food. We enjoyed each others company. We participated in a Love Feast.
This is what this blog and our journey is all about.
