The time of fellowship after the service is essential for our community life, and providing food for this occasion is a wonderful ministry. Hebrews 13:2 urges us, “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers”, and 1 Peter 4:9 directs us to “offer hospitality to one another without grumbling”. In our culture, like many others, offering food sends the message “we're glad you're here and hope you'll stay” and as Christians this is the message we want to send to visitors and regular members of our congregations.
Your job is to work with your team so that as a group you provide food, and the milk for the tea and coffee. About 2L of milk (your choice) is needed each week and is often the job of the leader to provide.
What food you provide is really pretty flexible. The only real guideline is that it should be inclusive (steer clear of super hot chilli sauce or large tins of sardines!) A good rule of thumb is somethings savoury, somethings sweet and fruit.
It's important at first arrival to check the water level of the hot water urn. If is is less than 75%full- fill it up first so the water can heat during the service. It is used ealier for the 8am community and is also used for the washing up afterwards so a full urn is needed. The coffee urn should be on before 10am service so no need to refill that urn.
Good catering is valuable but it's important not to go over the top and create an excessive burden for yourself. Don't worry about how your catering compares to last week's! If it is getting a bit too much, or you are worried about cost, just ask someone to help out, and/or talk to your congregational pastor.
Clean up of the urns is left for a volunteer through out the week when everything is cooled down and safe to clean.