Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week [Paperback]

Meredith Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

UPDATED with a new title & ISBN as: Come to the Table: A Passover Seder for Parish Use.
In response to enthusiastic requests, Come to the Table has been revised to help any liturgical congregation called to celebrate the Lord's Supper in His tradition. Please note that the liturgy in Come to the Table derives structure from but does not replicate the Jewish seder.

Available NOW from: CreateSpace (createspace.com/3528490) and repriced at $7.95 to be easily affordable by church groups.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

An excerpt from the Introduction for the REVISED edition:
How is this edition of Come to the Table different? So much has changed since 2004, that I initially planned to retire this title. Instead, I took deep breaths and started editing.

I was guided by requests and corrections made by those who'd already successfully used Come to the Table in a church setting. Thanks to their feedback, commentary has been edited way down and appears in endnotes. You'll also find revision that reflect my ongoing formation, notably what emerged while writing Why Is There a Menorah on the Altar? Jewish Roots of Christian Worship (Seabury).

By 2009, what started out as an intellectual interest became a deeply personal commitment to what I call trans-denominationalism--my fancy pants way of saying: enough already with the man-made divisions among Christians. As a result, Come to the Table has been reconfigured for use by any Christian community whose Holy Week observances would be enhanced by a seder.

Please note that the liturgy in Come to the Table derives structure from but does not replicate the Jewish seder. Our Christian faith makes using the traditional Jewish seder totally inappropriate as well as impossible. Instead, this Christian seder draws upon core Christian concepts and verses from Christian scripture to understand the Last Supper as Last Seder....

For Jews, Passover is a holiday commemorating liberation from bondage as well as God's faithfulness. My hope is that this revised edition of Come to the Table deepens users' appreciation of Judaism and serves as a reminder that Jesus invited everyone to the table.

From the Back Cover

About the NEW EDITION:
Come to the Table: A Passover Seder for Parish Use invites faithful, curious Christians to appreciate the Last Supper as a Last Seder for Jesus and his disciples. Since 2005, Come to the Table has been used successfully by Roman Catholic parishes throughout the United States and Canada. Now, in response to enthusiastic requests, it has been revised to help any liturgical congregation called to celebrate the Lord's Supper in His tradition. Includes:

• Historical and Biblical details about Passover with citation to scripture.
• The meaning of Passover symbols and their significance relative to Eucharist/Holy Communion.
• A traditional seder liturgy adapted for Christian use.
• Hebrew prayers in English.
• Easy-to-follow instructions for preparing the Passover meal and conducting a seder for small and large groups.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Plowshares Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976396203
• ISBN-13: 978-0976396208
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Despite academic training which included completing a doctoral dissertation, Meredith Gould never intended to write books. After grinding out academic journal articles during her decade as a Sociology professor, she graduated to writing for regular folks.

An essayist and lifestyle reporter for nearly two decades, Gould was published in magazines and newspapers -- when she wasn't writing public relations blather about pest control and wall coverings. Some sort of strange interior, possibly bio-chemical and definitely psycho-spiritual thing happened after her first book was published in 1998.

Why Is There a Menorah on the Altar: The Jewish Roots of Christian Worship (Seabury, 2009) is her seventh book. "I guess I'm a book author," says Gould, who is swift to point out that being a mid-list author is hardly lucrative. "Providing editorial services and communications strategy for the consumer healthcare industry pays the rent."

For literary relaxation, Gould blogs about the spirituality of everyday life at More Meredith Gould (http://meredithgould.blogspot.com). She's also the editor of The Virtual Abbey blog (http://www.thevirtualabbey.com) and currently serves as the abbess for that virtual community of modern monastics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this and add to the richness of your own faith!, March 12, 2005

By 

Lisa M. Hendey "Mom, Blogger, Podcaster, Author" (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week (Paperback)

During this Year of the Eucharist, Catholics looking to more fully appreciate the sacrament while enriching their family or parish celebration of Holy Week should look to the wonderful new book Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week (Plowshares Publishing, January 2005, paperback, 96 pages). Author Meredith Gould, Ph.D., writes from an educated perspective - describing herself as a "Jew by identity, a Christian by faith, and a Catholic in practice". Gould's additional books include The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions for Holidays, Feast Days and Everyday (Doubleday), which carries the imprimatur of the Catholic Church. As an adult convert to Catholicism, she writes in a manner which will encourage Catholics to examine and embrace the richness of traditional Jewish rituals and symbolism surrounding the feast of Passover.

Having been raised in a Jewish home, Gould opens her book with reminiscences of family Passover celebrations. With many Jewish friends of my own, I have discussed the wonderful family gatherings of this holiday and the memories created through the act of coming together in faith and celebration. I am looking forward to sharing Meredith Gould's Catholic Passover Seder with my own family and friends this year as a part of our Holy Week celebration.

As background information, Gould supplies a history of the rituals and symbols of the traditional Passover feast. An informative and touching section of the book entitled "Reconciliation and Teshuva" comments on the evolving relationship between Jews and Catholics, up to an including recent Papal acts and writings and current events such as reaction to Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. Given this background, Gould recommends an emphasis on what we as Catholics share in common with our Jewish brethren. The Catholic Passover Seder does not draw entirely on the traditional Jewish Seder, but rather provides an alternative inspired by and structured upon the original format but based in Christianity.

The bulk of Come to the Table contains practical, step by step instructions for planning, preparing and conducting your own Catholic Passover Seder. Gould's Seder may be used in either home, small group or parish settings. A complete appendix section provides additional prescriptions for carrying out a successful Seder in your parish.

I walked away from my experience of reading Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week both educated and inspired: educated on this history, symbols and rituals which underpin this antecedent to our Holy Thursday Eucharistic traditions, and inspired to celebrate this new tradition in my own home and faith community.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's Have a Seder, March 8, 2007

By 

Henry E. Schmalen "hank IV" (Sleepy Hollow, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week (Paperback)

I found Meredith Gould's book to be extremely helpful in planning our Seder this year. Last year we used a "Christian" version of the traditional Seder Supper but it really did not bring Jesus, Our Lord into the celebration. Ms. Gould's book really takes the Catholic perspective of this Jewish Tradition and blends it beautifully, using the Gospels as a basis. I am really looking forward to celebrating it with the Passion and Resurection in mind. I highly recommend it.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading...several times..., March 3, 2005

By 

Ruth Harrigan (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week (Paperback)

I learned a great deal about Passover, the celebration of Seder and its relation to Holy Week from this book. The author presented the material in an interesting manner, with a spiritual message that is ageless. I reread parts of the book three times and thoroughly enjoyed expanding my knowledge and worldview in the process. What is so special about this book, however, is that it enriched my appreciation, as a Catholic, of this holy time of the year. The book also includes all of the information necessary for your family, or a group as large as your parish, to celebrate a Catholic Passover Seder , right down to the necessary preparations. Highly recommended for church groups, pastors, youth leaders, individuals and spiritual seekers of all kinds.