I was picked up hitchhiking in my late teens by a vanload of Hare Krishna's on their Sunday feast day. They invited my friend and I to come feast with them. We did. It was one of the most amazing meals I'd ever eaten! So many different kinds of foods, and all absolutely delicious.
When everything was ready, we were invited to accompany the leaders as they assembled plates of food, a spoonful from every dish, which they took into their assembly hall, to the front where their idols stood, carved painted wood, in their niches with flowers and candles and incense. They set the plates in from of their gods, and offered their prayers and oblations.
When they were done, they removed the plates, took them back outside, and mixed each item back into the trays from which they came, stirring it through.
We were then permitted serve ourselves potluck style, and we proceeded to eat the food that had been offered to their idols.
Later that day, a wildfire headed towards their valley, and we had to evacuate. For my friend and I, it meant we could catch a ride to their Berkeley temple, furthering our progress.
The last I saw of them before we left was as they had removed their idols from their niches, and were wrapping them in blankets, preparing to bury them in the ground to protect them from the fire. I thought to myself, "Some gods!" Can't save themselves!
Much love!