Prairie Lutheran to host Brunch Church on April 21

Prairie Lutheran Church is launching a new worship experience on Sunday, April 21, at 11 a.m.: Brunch Church. It will be an informal, casual worship service that includes a free brunch.

The idea for Brunch Church started when Pastor Ashley Updegraff, the lead pastor at Prairie Lutheran Church, took a Sunday morning off and went out to brunch with her husband. “The place was packed,” Updegraff said. “I looked at my husband and said: ‘This is where everyone is!’ There is so much talk about decline in the church, but people obviously love brunch. I love brunch, too, so I wondered, ‘What if we combine them?’”

That’s just what Prairie Lutheran plans to do on April 21. Worship will be in the Great Hall, at round tables, where a meal of eggs, pancakes, and a variety of sausages will be served family-style. A reading from the Bible will be shared, but there will be no sermon. Instead, conversation will be encouraged at tables, with questions provided to guide discussion. There will be an opportunity for prayer and the Lord’s Supper, also focused around the table groups.

“The emphasis is on building community and having a more conversational, participatory worship experience. Instead of the pastor speaking ‘at’ you, the experience will be communal,” Updegraff states.

Stories in the Christian Bible indicate that Jesus was quite fond of sharing meals with his disciples and friends, even eating with those no one else would join. Combining worship with a meal, then, is a distinctly biblical practice, Updegraff says.

The April 21 event marks the first Brunch Church, but Prairie Lutheran Church is eager to try more, especially if the first is a success. There are plans to experiment with a Brunch Church that meets out in the community at a restaurant, too, for a different experience.

Updegraff describes her vision for Brunch Church as, “We want people to feel comfortable and welcome. Hospitality plays a huge role in that, and food plays a huge role in hospitality. Brunch Church is for anyone who wants to experience a different kind of worship – one in which they aren’t just spectators, but active participants.”

All are welcome to this free event. Prairie Lutheran Church is located at 11000 Blossom Road in Eden Prairie, south of Pioneer Trail.