The House of Cyril and Methodius

I wrote this for the Waterloo Campus Ministries newsletter so I thought I would post it here as well! I think that hosting these community dinners has been a great opportunity for us as a house.

Walking into my house one Thursday night, I smell the strong scent of garlic and onions – the beginnings of a delicious chilli. Around a small table, a couple university students are busy chopping vegetables while discussing the proper way to cut garlic: do you use a knife or a garlic press? They spend about an hour and a half cooking together to prepare supper for about twenty of us who meet once a month to share a meal. These suppers are more than just simply eating together. They give us an opportunity to be the body of Christ. As we chop vegetables and wash dishes, we begin to grasp what it means to serve one another. As we eat dishes from India and China, we get a glimpse of a world bigger than exams and assignments. As we successfully have conversations with those who are just learning English, we gain patience, realizing that laughter surpasses language in bringing people together. We don’t always agree about controversial topics (such as the prevalence of racism or the practicality of pacifism). But in bringing people together from different disciplines and different parts of the world, we can learn how to listen to each other’s perspectives.