Learning before the third meal

We hold the third Shabbos meal in our synagogue, and it starts right before sunset. On the other hand, the minchah prayer is much earlier, because some congregants live far away, and they need sufficient time to walk back home after minchah. As a result, there is a half an hour of free time before we begin the third meal. We had the idea of organizing Torah learning in pairs or a lecture at that time. But someone told us that it’s forbidden to hold study sessions in a synagogue after minchah on Shabbos. Is that correct?  

Dear …!

The initiative to hold a study session or a class/lecture, so that the public will be occupied with the words of Torah is a tremendous and blessed idea! True, there is a tradition not to hold study sessions after Minchah on Shabbos as a remembrance of those that passed away at that time. However, this is only a custom to learn alone or at home at this time, and not a prohibition. But any time there is a possibility that the time won’t be utilized for learning Torah, and especially if people will waste their time on idle chatter, it’s an obligation to set a learning session that will encourage the congregation to be engaged in Torah learning or in listening to a lecture or a class, according to what’s most appropriate for you.

Shulchan Oruch, section Orach Chaim, chapter 292, §2; Mishnah Berurah, ibid., subsections 8, 9