Special Events Coordinator Rosie Rogers with friend

The Seder supper is traditionally the meal Jews share to celebrate when Jewish firstborn were "passed-over" by the Angel of Death and Jews were liberated from slavery in Egypt. Passover is traditionally thought of as a redemptive, liberating Holy Day. It is believed that Jesus' Last Supper was a Seder meal. St. Joan or Arc's Seder expertly ties together the idea of the meal mirroring Jesus' Last Supper with Christianity's Jewish roots.

Weeks before the Seder supper begins at SJA, Roseann Rogers, Pastoral Ministry/Special Events coordinator at St. Joan of Arc, begins preparing for the event. This year, about thirty volunteers set up the tables and decorated the gym more then 24 hours before the meal. As participants arrived in the gym and began finding places to sit, they were serenaded by a roaming Bob Barnes and his lively accordion.

The SJA Seder is usually hosted by a family. This year, the Brown family: Michael, Janet, Nancy and Kevin were our hosts. The Browns were seated at the high table towards the front of the gym with our Presider, Father George Wertin.

The Host Family: Kevin, Michael, Janet and Nancy Brown

After the opening songs, a woman at each table was asked to light the festival candle on each table. Next, followed a ritual reminiscent of the Seder rituals enacted in Jewish homes all over the world. Each table had bowls of some of the foods traditionally arrayed on the Seder plate: bitter herbs and saltwater, haroset (a mixture of raisins and cinnamon) and matzah (unleavened bread). While the Brown family said some ritual words (in English) the appropriate Seder food was passed around the table and eaten. The ritual culminated in Nancy and Kevin Brown asking their father, Michael, the traditional 4 questions about the meaning of the Passover.

As we participated in the ritual Seder I could not help but feel a kinship with the Jews in Netanya, Israel sitting down in a hotel restaurant at sundown the night before to celebrate the Seder, when a suicide bomber ran into the room and detonated a bomb that killed 22 people. Imagine if someone ran into St. Joan's at the very moment we were beginning the ritual, set off a bomb, and changed our entire world?

As the ritual was ending, someone started taking the covers off the food and the tempting smell began wafting around the gym. When the ritual ended, each table was called to the buffet table, with groans all around if your table was not called! By now the food was smelling really good and everyone was hungry for it!

This year the Seder broke with SJA tradition and offered African food-no Italian this year unless you count the Macaroni and Cheese for the unadventurous! The food was suberb. I especially enjoyed the African Chicken with Peanuts and the fantastic Bread Pudding. Other items on the menu were: Cous-Cous, Rice, Tangine (a beef and lamb stew), salad, and dinner rolls. As if all that wasn't enough, there was a whole table full of desserts: cookies, candy and the Wonderful Bread Pudding! Thanks to parishioner Cathy Meyer of TLC Cafe for catering the event and providing such wonderful cuisine! After the meal, the SJA choir led by Anna Vagle and accompanied by some of the SJA musicians: Dick Hedlund, Dan Chouinard, Fred Vagle, Cyril Paul and Jim TenBensel, performed three songs: Peace of the Earth, a passionate Somlandela with the choir swaying in time to the lyrics and Gather Us In. Is it just me or is the SJA choir better then ever?

The choir was followed by the readings and a reflection by Father George Wertin. George emphasized the liberating aspects of the Passover, rather then the redemptive aspects of the Holy Day saying redemption is often equated with sin. What we need instead is: freedom from war (like the one we are waging in Afghanistan), and freedom from the patriarchal structure of the Catholic Church. But, with a crack in the wall, comes the light, which can be painful after the long darkness. Many challenges lie ahead. He called on all of us to minister to one another as Jesus did. Then, four children approached the altar and each asked George a question. The final question: "Why do we wash each others feet on this day?" George: "We don't," got a big laugh. There is no ritual of washing the feet at St. Joan's anymore... given the size of the crowd and the time it's probably a good thing we don't wash feet anymore!

Eucharist followed the Our Father and the traditional SJA Sign of Peace. Smiles, hugs and handshakes all around. One person from each table went to the high table and collected a loaf of pocket bread and a glass of wine. The bread and the wine were brought back to the tables, passed around and shared.

Janice LaDuke was baptized at St. Joan of Arc but her parents left St. Joan's in the early 70's and went to a "less radical" Catholic church instead. She's very glad to have found her way back to St. Joan's in 1994!! Janice is a librarian by profession and has been working in the library of a healthcare consulting firm since 1997. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to all kinds of music and working on her home near Como Lake in St. Paul. Janice is also Echo Thoren's assistant every Sunday at the 11:00 a.m. service.

The evening ended with a big round of applause for a great evening. Anyone looking for an SJA event that makes you feel like part of a big family should attend the Holy Thursday/Seder supper next year.

Peg LaSota is interested in the biographies of parishioners... any suggestions?? She also loves studying piano, recorder, Spanish, and of course...singing in the choir!