The moment Fr. Ron Will gave Lucia Ferrara a copy of Gathering at the Table by Elizabeth Hoffman Reed, she knew she would use it for a program.
“It was perfect,” says Ferrara, the Renewal Center’s director of hospitality.
Reed’s book is described as “an invitation to learn the art and spirituality of dining” and promised to show readers “how to turn ordinary meals into God’s banquet” by “honoring the food on the tables of our lives” and “celebrating those we gather with.”
Ferrara’s Gathering at the Table program, held on three Tuesday evenings in September was just the latest she has presented combining food and community. She has hosted a scripture and faith sharing series for women called Mystic Chocolate. She has an ongoing series of bread and pie baking retreats, and she is the host of a YouTube series titled Cooking & Spirituality.
“The common theme of my food and hospitality programs is sacred connection,” Ferrara explains. “Food and fellowship represent God's abundance of comfort and community.”
Hospitality at the Renewal Center “builds connections, community and an inclusive space,” Ferrara says. “I focus on the spirit of food and fellowship to give guests the peace, energy, and space to find the beauty in all of God’s creations.”
Teresa Albright, the center’s executive director, says that intentional hospitality is at the heart of the Renewal Center’s mission, “because the very heart of Jesus Christ pulses with it. The conviction that ‘everyone belongs’ ran through his veins, whether he was visiting someone’s home or gathering a crowd on a hillside.”
“We practice hospitality when we listen deeply on retreat, welcome those seeking spiritual direction without judgment, and attend to the needs of others while hosting groups,” she says. “Hospitality is more than what we provide; it is how we make people feel — that they belong.”
“Hospitality has observable expressions: the thoughtful details of a guesthouse or the intentional arrangement of chairs in a meeting room,” says Albright. “But its source lies within the human person who ‘makes space’ for others to connect and belong.”
Those “thoughtful details” motivate Fr. Tim Coday, the center’s director of operations, who oversaw the renovation of the guesthouse earlier this year and just completed resurfacing the dining room floor.
“Cleaning our house shows respect for ourselves and for the guest. So, refinishing a floor or painting a room not only enhances the cleanliness of the Renewal Center, it makes the guest feel welcomed,” Coday says. “Walking into a clean place that is well kept makes one comfortable and welcome, and this is the essence of hospitality.”
Here’s a few of the programs coming to the Renewal Center. Check our website for details. pbrenewalcenter.org/events
Dec.4-6: Advent Retreat with Handel’s Messiah — The music and biblical lyrics of Handel’s Messiah prepares us for the Incarnation. Led by Fr. Timothy Armbruster.
Dec. 11: St. Lucy Day Celebration — Lucia Ferrara will lead a traditional ceremony that includes planting wheat to celebrate St. Lucy, beloved in Sicily and Sweden.
Dec. 12: Blue Christmas Celebration — Holidays can be difficult for someone experiencing grief and loss. Prayer, music, and community can be doorways to healing.
Dec. 21: Winter Solstice Celebration — Join us for our annual celebration of light and dark, including a candlelight procession around the center’s Reconciliation Labyrinth.