Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/736680
Pasta night began out of necessity and friendship one wintery night in 2006 while I was studying at university in London. We were in self-catering accommodation, and I was running out of food. "I have fusilli but nothing to put on it," I complained. "Not even cheese." "I have a jar of bolognaise sauce," Jonathan replied. Sean had minced beef, and Jess had some vegetables. With these ingredients combined, we had a meal. We didn't realize it at the time, but we had stumbled upon a powerful means of hospitality, community-building, and evangelism. We had such fun cooking and eating together (though the recipe itself wasn't exciting) that we decided to do it again the next Monday. And the next. We invited more friends who each brought a contribution to the meal. I bought an enormous, cheap cooking pot at the supermarket. By graduation, 12 of us gathered weekly. We ate, played games, and watched movies. We kept in touch, and that group of friends—who still meet several times a year for weddings, long weekends, barbeques, and Christmas parties—has doubled with new family members. Pasta night has happened every Monday for 10 years. After university Jonathan and I got married and moved to Canterbury, where I worked as a university chaplain. We invited my students to pasta night, and many felt comfortable exploring friendships and faith in our house, even if going to church seemed unfamiliar or intimidating. We met oodles of international students who brought exotic and unidentifiable vegetables and spices; we threw everything in the pasta pot and practiced English vocabulary in the kitchen. One afternoon the president of the Christian Union called franticly saying her plans for a dinner to welcome freshmen had fallen apart. "Don't worry," I told her. "It's pasta night; bring everyone here." We had 34 guests in our two-room apartment that night, and the pasta and vegetables stretched accommodatingly. In 2012 Jonathan and I moved to Colorado so I could study at Denver Seminary. Far from home, pasta night gave us continuity, comfort, and a new community. On our return to the UK, we bought a house, and pasta night resumed with cousins and old and new friends. Around our table, we have celebrated new jobs, birthdays, and small triumphs. We have grieved the loss of grandparents, pregnancies, old jobs, and parents' marriages. As we cook, we talk about our weeks. Before we eat, we say a prayer thanking God for the food and reflecting on our joys and sorrows. Even Jonathan's cousin, influenced by druidic 20 FALL 2016 CULTURE Pasta Night A recipe for meaningful community. Jupiterimages/BananaStock