By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Report for America corps member
The Breaking Bread Fellowship Series is an ecumenical community initiative designed to bring people together across racial, denominational and community lines to build relationships, foster understanding and promote healing and unity. The series was established between Versailles Simpson Chapel United Methodist Church and Versailles United Methodist Church.
Guided by the theme “Healing, Hope & Unity Across the Table,” the series creates intentional spaces for worship, prayer, meaningful dialogue, shared meals, personal reflection and fellowship. At its heart, Breaking Bread recognizes that lasting reconciliation begins when people are willing to gather, listen to one another, engage in honest conversation and build authentic relationships.
Its most recent gathering, titled “Courageous Conversations,” was held Aug. 15 It was hosted at Versailles UMC and facilitated by Cierra S. Spaulding of Allumine Collective. Through facilitated conversation and reflection, participants were encouraged to engage thoughtfully around issues of race, relationships, understanding and reconciliation. The session continued the mission of Breaking Bread by moving participants beyond simply gathering together toward deeper dialogue, greater understanding and a shared commitment to strengthening relationships within the community.
Charliese B. Lewis of Versailles Simpson Chapel UMC, who serves as the ministry coordinator in the Kentucky UMC East District, spoke about the success of the event.
“I believe the second Breaking Bread gathering was very successful and demonstrated that there is a real desire in our community to come together, have meaningful conversations and work toward solutions,” she said. “The gathering brought together a diverse group of community members, city and county leaders, and clergy from Versailles and Lexington. Attendance doubled from our first gathering in March, which was encouraging and showed the growing interest in this initiative.”
Given the success of the event and the building momentum demonstrated by the significant participation, Lewis said she is looking forward to the next step.
“I believe we are now ready to move from conversation toward action—identifying ways we can work together to address these challenges and better respond to the needs of our community,” she said. “Breaking Bread is helping us build the relationships and trust that are necessary for that work.”
Two more Breaking Bread events are being planned. Announcements and information about the events can be found in the Sun’s Church Notes.