Looking Back – Circle Suppers
By Ed Busch
When I wrote about pledge drive shows in September, you may have noticed a piece in our weekly email newsletter about Circle Suppers. The article described them as monthly potluck dinners where congregation members gather in each other's homes. This got me wondering: what's the history of these community-building meals?
My research began with a simple Google search. The AI response defined a circle supper as "a small, intimate potluck dinner held at a member's home, usually within a church or community group, where a rotating group of people gather to share a meal and get to know each other better." These gatherings, I learned, are particularly common in Unitarian Universalist congregations.
The UUA website revealed that these gatherings go by various names, including "dinner for eight" and "second Friday suppers." Many congregations keep these events focused purely on fellowship, avoiding church business discussions. Hosts often guide conversations to ensure everyone participates. Some congregations organize dinner groups by age – young adults, families with teens, or elders – while others have even published cookbooks featuring favorite circle supper recipes.
Circle Supper Logos from Columbine UU, Pathways UU, and Palomar UU.
To uncover our congregation's specific history, I turned to our local archives and the Internet. While the First Universalist Church of Lansing searches showed numerous public suppers, Circle Suppers were first mentioned in the 1966-1967 UUCGL Annual Report, with Elizabeth Signell as the organizer.
A deeper dive into our newsletters revealed this enthusiastic announcement in the March 7, 1967 issue of The Capitol Unitarian:
"IF YOU HAVE BEEN WANTING TO MEET SOME OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, but haven't really had the opportunity to do so, become a participant in the Circle Suppers, which are being initiated in April. Here, relaxing in homey comfort and enjoying the beneficent effects of good food, you will have a chance to exchange ideas and learn from others. Like a game of musical chairs, the members of each Circle will change each time and, thus, we will be able to appreciate the rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences of a considerable proportion of our members."
The first Circle Supper was held on Sunday evening, April 16, 1967. These gatherings continued until the COVID pandemic and are now making a welcome return to our congregation's life.
I noticed that the title flip-flopped between Circle Supper and Circle Dinner here at UU Lansing ove r the years. Interested in finding out more about the reboot of UU Lansing Circle Suppers? Email LansingUUCircleSupper@gmail.com for more information.
Thank you for joining me on this historical journey through our congregation's Circle Supper tradition. Have ideas for future blog topics, questions, corrections, or stories to share? Reach out at uucgl.archives@gmail.com. And remember, we're always grateful for photograph donations to our archives! We’d really love some photographs from Circle Suppers!
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About the Author
For those wondering who’s behind these blog posts: I’m Ed Busch, and I’m excited to share the history of UU Lansing with you. I retired in 2023 after 15 years as an Electronic Records Archivist at Michigan State University’s Archives & Historical Collections. My background is in archival administration and information science, with an undergraduate degree in Fisheries and coursework in Computer Science. Prior to a career shift, I also worked in fisheries, aerospace, and Information Technology. My wife, Leigh White, and I began attending UU Lansing in the early 2000s and became members in 2006. I’ve been involved with the church archives since 2007, and both of our daughters went through UU Lansing’s RE program.
[Editing suggestions provided by Claude AI.]
Sources:
Circle Suppers Help Create Closer Communities, by Donald E. Skinner, January 15, 2005, https://www.uua.org/interconnections/56655.shtml
1966-1967 UUCGL Annual Report
March 7, 1967, The Capitol Unitarian newsletter.
April 11, 1967, The Capitol Unitarian newsletter.