The notice in the Gazette Calendar said “Menu will be a surprise.” That sounded good to me so last month I spent a week driving around the Island sampling a different community supper each night, seven in all. If the sanctuary is the soul of a religious institution, the parish hall is its life’s blood where members and guests are treated the same and the common denominator is sharing a meal. Monday. I joined the small crowd in the parish hall at St. Andrews Episcopal Church with its Tiffany windows. There was a salad and vegetable soup, pasta and red sauce, and at the dessert station a big bowl filled with chunks of fresh fruit, one of the best offerings I had all week.

Instead of community supper, Liz Villard, the coordinator, still uses the term “soup supper” which is the original name from over 20 years ago. Each week she improvises a meal from the donations she receives, and this evening she had avocados so she put chunks of them in the soup. She explained that this is really a Methodist supper hosted by the Episcopalians. Liz runs a tight ship and excused herself to return to the kitchen.

“They need me,” she said.

Tuesday. Up in Menemsha the tidy little Chilmark Community Church, a Methodist Church, sits in front of the fellowship hall. That’s what they call it, not a parish hall. “Look outside and you can see a seam where they sawed the church in half to move it here,” said coordinator Pam Goff.

This is the smallest and most intimate of the suppers. Armin Hanjian offered a prayer and then he and his wife Vicky, interim co-pastors, buzzed around setting up, cooking and serving. There was clam chowder served in cream soup plates, spaghetti with sauce, salad, and desserts brought by the regulars. In the spring they switch to pizza. Bits of Island-centric conversation wafted around the tables.

“No bluefish for me. It’s nothing but lobster bait.”

After the tables were cleared, children, teens and adults gathered for several rounds of bananagrams, a long-standing tradition. I did not do well at this game.

Wednesday. The community supper at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury began with a blessing sung a cappella by Nikki Patton. This is a church that honors its long history and keeps a list of clockwinders going back to 1895. The little parish hall was packed. To preserve order, tables were released one at a time to the food line. Marjorie Pierce, the coordinator, estimated that between 75 and 100 meals, some going to shut-ins, would be served in the course of two hours.

This is a true potluck with the main course donated by Cronig’s and a variety of home-made casseroles, salads and desserts brought in by church members. There were more children at this supper than any other I attended and near the end of the evening some of them joined the serving side of the long food table for a little training session. I was looking for my favorite of all the dishes at all the community suppers I’ve ever attended: Marie Doebler’s bread pudding. There it was, halfway down the long serving table in a white porcelain baking dish with white bread cubes floating in the palest yellow egg custard. No cinnamon, nutmeg or raisins, and not a trace of browning from overcooking. It was barely set. Not too sweet either. A very adult bread pudding with such a delicate texture. Still, you could feed it to a baby. Mission accomplished.

Thursday. The supper held each week in the large basement parish hall of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church is an ecumenical effort with members of the Hebrew Center of Martha’s vineyard and the Good Shepard Parish that includes all the Catholic churches on the Island. Gail Burk and Carol Early coordinated for the evening. Mind the stairs coming and going and enjoy the contemporary leaded glass windows which were lit the night I was there. Both St. Augustine’s and the Hebrew Center possess a rare Vineyard religious accessory, a parking lot adjacent to the building.

The volunteers were having a good time with chef Joe Capobianco who plans and prepares each meal. Tonight: baked fish for 45 with a crumb topping and rice with peas and fresh mushrooms, salad and a selection of pies and cakes for dessert. On a separate table there was fresh produce, apples and enormous artichokes, for the taking.

Friday. The Grace Episcopal Church suppers ended in March. The parish hall opens directly into the sanctuary, probably a very handy arrangement. It’s a big well lit room used for many activities and held the crowd easily.

Grace Church started out with soup suppers 12 years ago and still provides four different soups each Friday night. This evening there was a giant commercial brazier of Ted Collins’ jambalaya, (very spicy), and filled with chunks of fish, scallops and squid that he’d caught himself — the last from his freezer for the season. Another standout was Gloria Wong’s sticky rice and her dumplings. Coordinator Leslie Frizzell said sometimes there’s a white lasagna, and they always prepare extras for the Hospitality Homes program beyond the 50 to 60 they feed on Fridays. Before you know it, the church will be back to making lobster rolls for the summer season.

Saturday. If there’s an elegant version of community suppers, it’s held in Trinity Methodist Church’s 1880’s parish hall in the Camp Ground. It’s a seated dinner using the last of the church’s china, some of which has the Trinity logo on it. More than 60 meals of baked ham with raisin sauce, baked beans and potato salad were served the night I was there. It was like a big family holiday dinner.

All the servers wore aprons with the church logo, even the minister, Richard Rego, who got us started with a prayer. Coordinators Sandy Joyce and Ethyl Tyson explained their system of inviting guest chefs to cook. In the kitchen I could see the staff in their white chef’s jackets tending the meal. A sign on the wall thanked them and the financial sponsor, often a business, sometimes individuals. Tables of four made for a cozy arrangement in this room with its original leaded glass windows and fancy brass doorknobs. Outside there was a big sign reminding everyone that there was another Methodist dinner in Edgartown on a different night.

Sunday. The Federated Church in Edgartown serves lunch after church in the winter. Their season ended on Palm Sunday. Outside under the church bulletin board there was a lunch sign swinging in the wind. The parish hall is cheerful and bright, and we sat at several long tables of 10. Coordinator Pam Butterich said they always serve lasagna, salad and dessert which she often bakes herself. They prepare for 60, and know they will have leftovers for the Hospitality Homes program hosted by the Federated Church for two nights each week during the winter. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed, maybe because everyone had just come from church.