INDIANA
DUNES GREAT BANQUET
Come, For all is now ready.
Luke 14:17
Page Index:
WHO SHOULD
ATTEND
THE GREAT BANQUET?
The weekend experience is for anyone who:
1. wishes to strengthen their spiritual life;
2. wants to have a better understanding of prayer,
the
sacraments, Christian study and action;
3. strives to live a Christian life that bears fruit
for
God;
4. seeks to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and to
make
Him known.
You are invited to be a guest at the Great Banquet
given
by God and to feast in His goodness and love.
^
PURPOSE OF THE GREAT BANQUET
The focus of the Great Banquet is coming to know Jesus Christ as
Lord
and Savior, and making Him known. The objective of the weekend is to
inspire
Christians to deeper service to Christ in their home, their church, and
their work place; to live lives in grace and to respond to higher
levels
of Christian discipleship.
^
IMAGE OF THE GREAT BANQUET
The Gospel of Luke (14:15-24) presents Jesus' parable of the Great
Banquet. A master prepared a great banquet and invited many guests,
saying,
"Come for everything is now ready." One by one those invited sent their
excuses, and the master became angry and ordered his servants, "Go
quickly
into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the
crippled,
the blind, and the lame." And these came, but room still remained at
the
table and the master said to his servants, "Go out to the roads and
country
lanes and make them come in so that my house will be full." Then the
hall
was filled and the guests feasted and shared in joy with the master.
Jesus' parable provides the image for the Great Banquet weekend.
Like
its counterparts, Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Tres Dias, etc., Great
Banquet
examines Christianity as a life style through an orderly, structured
weekend
designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christians. Through a
combined
team effort of laity and clergy, the Great Banquet provides a strong
renewal
force in the church.
^
HISTORY OF THE GREAT BANQUET
The Great Banquet traces its history to Majorica, Spain where in
1947
the Cursillo de Christianidad (short course in Christianity)
was
born. The three day course spread quickly throughout the world. In the
United States, Protestant versions were developed from the original.
Catholic
weekend, including the ecumenical Tres Dias, and the United
Methodist
Walk to Emmaus. In 1982, a Walk to Emmaus community was started by the
First Presbyterian Church of Madisonville, Kentucky. After 10 years of
Walk to Emmaus weekends in Madisonville, the ecumenical Great Banquet
was
formed, emphasizing the personal Christian discipleship of all Cursillo
based weekends. Since 1992, many new Great Banquet communities have
been
established, including three in Indiana, most recently the Indiana
Dunes
Great Banquet (1995) in the northwest part of the state.
^
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE GREAT
BANQUET?
The 72 hour experience begins Thursday evening and ends Sunday.
For
three days, guests live and study together and worship, sing, pray, and
discuss a series of talks by laity and clergy which present the theme
of
God's grace. The three days lead to a personal examination of the
presence
of Christ among His body of believers, and the experience of grace
which
comes through the prayers and loving acts of a Christian community.
^
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE
GREAT
BANQUET?
One of the most important parts of the Great Banquet is its
follow-up
program. Guests are challenged to use the lessons of the weekend the
rest
of their lives, strengthening their own spiritual life through study
and
active church participation, and striving to become active disciples of
Jesus Christ in the world.
To assist in this discipleship, the Great Banquet encourages reunion
groups of three to five people to meet weekly to examine the members
goals
of spiritual growth and to encourage one another to a life of
discipleship.
Opportunities are also available to return to Great Banquet as a member
of an organizing team. A periodic newsletter keeps guests informed of
other
Great Banquet activities.
^
If you want to learn more about the Great Banquet,
please
contact
INDIANA DUNES GREAT BANQUET
c/o Ogden Dunes Community Church 116 Hillcrest Road,
#113
Ogden Dunes, IN 46368