The congregation stood in a circle, their eyes turned toward me as I spoke the words of institution: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread.” I raised the round loaf. Tearing it down the center, I continued. “This is my body, which is broken for you.”
At that moment, a clove of garlic fell from the torn bread and landed at my feet.
That summer I was a field education student at a small Mennonite church in north Philadelphia, completing an internship required for the master of divinity degree. During those months, I preached, supported the church’s community development organization, planned youth group events, and visited church members in their homes.
