“Remove futurity from experience and you leach meaning from it just as surely as if you cut out a man’s past. ‘Memory is the basis of individual personality.’ Miguel de Unamuno writes, ‘just as tradition is the basis of the collective personality of a people. We live in memory and by memory, and our spiritual life is at bottom simply the effort of our memory to persist, to transform itself into hope, the effort of our past to transform itself into our future.’” –Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss

This is the first dinner in a series we'll be hosting in 2026 around topics we think are interesting and which deserve a sit-down meal and conversation with others.

We believe that gathering for meals, over intentional conversation, in community is one of our greatest forms of resistance to the things that make us less human. As Ronald Reagan said in his farewell speech in 1989: "All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

You don't need to prepare anything to attend these dinners, just show up ready to eat, to be served a meal, and to engage in conversation, with depth, with others. The conversations will be structured, but casual. 

For this first dinner we're going to focus our attention on the spiritual life, specifically: how it is that we live a spiritual life in community? and what is the role of belief? We'll think together and share some of the stories from our lives that emerge. Our hope is that over dinner each of us experiences something of depth, which helps us heal, grow, and make meaning of the events of our lives and the world at this particular moment. RSVP here.

LOGISTICS
Location: Emily’s backyard in Richmond. Dress warm (though we’ll have a fire pit and some heat lamps going). We’ll send out the exact address once you’ve RSVP’d.

Time: 6:30pm
 
Kids: Kids are welcome. There will be plenty of space for the kids to move around. We'll also have some coloring activities for kids who don't want to or are not able to participate at the tables in conversation.

Food: Please note below if there are any dietary restrictions and we'll do our best to accommodate. All food and drinks will be provided for.

Cost: There is no cost to these dinners, but if you are able or wanting to contribute, please do! You can send money over by clicking here or just bring some cash to the dinner and we'll have something to collect any donations. 

RSVP Here!

We won’t have a St. Lucy’s Ash Wednesday service, but encourage you to head to one in your neighborhood or at St. Paul’s (where we meet for St. Lucy’s). At St. Paul’s you can catch a service at 12:10p or 7p.

Come party with us! We’ll gather at Brix Factory Brewing in Oakland (June’s Pizza is next door) around 5:30p to just party together and celebrate this night before we launch into the season of Lent––as we walk towards the death and resurrection of hope and Jesus. Kids are welcome. We’ll have some kind of ritual at the end of the gathering to send us into Lent.

Join us for St. Lucy’s first Annual All-Church Meeting. We’ll spend some time reflecting on what’s been––celebrating our launch year and the lessons learned––and we’ll look ahead to what’s coming in 2026, including financial updates and goals for the coming year. Everyone is welcome to participate. We’ll aim to have some childcare provided and some snacks. Join in as shaping where we head in 2026! We’ll roll into our regular service following the meeting.

Come hang out with us! Every other month we’ll be meeting up at beer gardens around the East Bay to simply hang out and have dinner and drinks together. We’ll aim to choose family-friendly spots so that everyone can be there, if they want. If going out isn’t in your budget, just let Emily know (emily@stlucyschurch.org) and we’ll make sure you’re covered. Feel free to drop Emily a line to let her know you’re coming so she knows to look for you, but you can also just show up unannounced. If you’re coming for the first time and don’t know anyone yet, look for our amazing thrift store find of the brass praying hands holding our St. Lucy’s cards and you’ll find us.

These are great nights to get to know the team and each other in a more casual setting. And as always, feel free to bring a friend along!