People in many religious traditions say a prayer before meals and I’m curious if any of us are modifying our table prayers especially for this week. I can see how it might be appropriate since we’re “raising our consciousness” about how poverty and public policy collide on a very personal and practical level (I mean, what’s more personal than what’s in your belly?) I don’t want to start a religious debate here but heck, we’re sharing recipes, why shouldn’t we also be sharing our prayers?
Since I’m a protestant follower of Christ, I believe that the church is the body of Christ at least until Christ’s return. This means that it’s up to believers to express and establish the peace and the love and justice of the Christ. So I think I’m going to say something like “Help us remember those whose hunger is not satisfied when we leave this table and help us to work your loving presence throughout Creation on their behalf.”
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Great idea for a thread. I’m a Quaker, so how my wife and I begin meals is to take a moment of silence before the meal and then share something we are grateful for. It’s simple, but it’s an important way to remember all the blessings we have.
I very much like this idea. We are atheists, but remembering to be thankful for all of our many blessings every day, and state just one, is a very good thing. Thank you for the idea.
This is going to sound hokey, but I have an 8 yr old and an 11 yr old that I am trying to teach to be thankful. We’ve been saying grace before meals since they were very little (too bad I didn’t do that with the oldest…)
Our prayers are simple and the kids take turns saying it each day. We have two basic version of grace…very simple and very kid oriented.
1. God is good, God is great, Thank you for this food, Amen.
2. (This one gets sung and sometimes it gets a tiny bit silly at the table) “Oh the Lord’s been good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me, the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed, the Lord’s been good to me.”
That 2nd one is called “Johnny Appleseed’s Grace” and I learned it at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp back in 1982…but it is a good way to get my kids saying grace.
Oh, and I was wondering if you have any other dinner table traditions….
We always eat dinner together and most of the time (except on pizza and movie night) we eat at the dining room table. We ask each member of the family (and any visitors) how their day was and we do “Hi/Lo” Each person gives an example of a good thing in their day and each gives an example of a bad thing.
When my oldest was little I didn’t insist on sitting at the dining room table, and now that we do sit at the dining room table, I feel so much more connected to my children. We talk about a lot of things at that table…school, social issues, interactions with peers and teachers and co-workers and bosses, and things we plan to do together in the upcoming weeks.
I’ve heard that we are a novelty these days. Many families just don’t eat together. Personally, I know more families that DO eat together than don’t…
An,
The rest of the song goes:
And every seed I sow
It grows into a tree
For someday there’ll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share
The Lord is good to me.
(See my other comment about justice and you’ll know why I added this one)
Another song:
Thank you for this food this food this glorious glorious food
And the animals and the vegetables and the minerals that make it possible
It’s a round.
I know several others if you want to know them. You can email me privately.
I was very fortunate that the week before the challenge I attended a Buddhist retreat in Colorado led by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh. From a spiritual perspective, it was wonderful preparation for the challenge since one emphasis was on the mindful eating of our meals. (Done in silence.) So I had good extra practice at paying attention to each mouthful, enjoying the tastes and textures and expressing gratitude for for the labors of all who have worked to bring me this food.
Additionally, in my Buddhist tradition, as well as at the Retreat we are big members of the “clean plate club”; taking only what is needed and eating every bit of that.
I am experiencing that the challenge is providing an extra incentive to practice mindful eating. I am taking more time and really enjoying the taste and texture of my food. My bowls are clean and I feel grateful for having had my food.
Jackie, does the title “Buyer-Research & Productive Materials” mean anything to you?
Oh, Gosh! Hysterical! I should be coming to your house for dinner!
I KNEW it!
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