Camp meetings are an American tradition, the first of which seems to have been organized by James McGready (c.1760–1817) based on the Scottish Presbyterian outdoor revival meetings. These meetings were introduced to England in 1807, especially by the Methodists. The camp meetings were marathons that lasted several days. A short version of the camp meeting is the tradition of “Dinner on the Grounds,” a one-day event called “Revival Sunday.” It’s usually held in August during a lull in farming and harvesting.
The Dinner on the Grounds pattern is service and sermon, a break for dinner on the grounds outside of the church building, and a return inside for more sermonizing and singing. Albert Brumley and Gene Gideon make a good case for the hymn singing and recipes for the event but err in calling it “Dinner on the Ground,” no “s,” a common mistake that is usually deadly among Southerners: Albert E. Brumley’s All-Day Singin’ and Dinner on the Ground: A Collection of Favorite Old Time Songs and Hymns and Choice Recipes From Days of Yesteryear (1972).