The New Testament does not seem to depict Church-going as we know it, it but does depict meals. Jesus eats with his disciples (and often with rogues), but his meals just before his death and after his resurrection have particular resonance in the Gospel stories.

The Very Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan, scholar of ancient Christianity, will explore how the earliest Christians gathered to eat with Jesus and thus – eventually – gave us our familiar eucharistic liturgy. He serves as Dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. His specialized work on early Christianity focusses on meals, ritual, and the idea of sacrifice. His books include Ancient Christian Worship (Baker Academic, 2014) on sale at Dogwood Books and Gifts.