John Calvin said the true church was wherever the Word was rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered. To put it another way, church happens when believers gather to tell the story and break the bread.

The many connections in the Bible between what we do in the Lord’s Supper, what it means to be in relationship with God, and how God would have us live every day can be found in God’s Abundant Table, the 2011 Moderator’s Lenten study published by Witherspoon Press, an imprint of Congregational Ministries Publishing of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Written by Cynthia M. Campbell, president of McCormick Theological Seminary, God’s Abundant Table begins with the premise that the Eucharist, or “thanksgiving meal” of the church, is far more than a reenactment of the meal in the Upper Room. Rightly understood, the Lord’s Supper is connected to Jesus’ entire ministry, to the entire story of God’s relationship with God’s people, to our everyday meals, and to the ministry to which each of us is called as Christ’s followers.

Elder Cynthia (Cindy) Bolbach, Moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said, “This study brings us back to the essentials—the sharing of bread, the invitation of hospitality, the creation of relationships. I recommend it to all disciples as we set forth on the path to resurrection day.”

Whether used for personal reflection or congregational study, this collection of devotional readings on key biblical texts and a six-session study guide is ideal for those desiring to reflect more deeply on God’s presence with us whenever bread is broken.

God’s Abundant Table is now available for purchase at the PC(USA) store or by calling the Presbyterian Distribution Service at (800) 524-2612. Quantity discounts are available for purchases over 10 copies.

 

God’s Abundant Table
Cynthia M. Campbell
Witherspoon Press
ISBN: 978-1571532145
$12.95 (discounts for purchases over 10 copies)

Author Bio: Cynthia M. Campbell is the ninth president of McCormick Theological Seminary. A native of Pasadena, California, Cynthia was ordained by the Presbytery of San Gabriel and served numerous churches in Texas. In 1981, she became associate professor of theology and ministry and director of the doctor of ministry program at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In 1988, she became pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Salina, Kansas, one of the first large congregations in the denomination to call a woman as head of staff.

She is author of A Multitude of Blessings: A Christian Approach to Religious Diversity (Westminster John Knox, 2007) as well as a monograph, Theologies Written from Feminist Perspectives, published by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She has written articles on theology, ministry, ethics, and worship for many respected publications. She contributed the “Trinity” entry to the Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith and wrote the foreword to Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers.