Table Blessing #3 – Bruce G.

Gracious God: Bless this meal and all who are invited to it. May this experience bring all to the understanding that the needs of all, those present and those absent, are most important. The conversations, the service to others, the meal itself are given to us by You in order that we share all with our sisters and brothers; their needs are thus met with this gracious gift of hospitality. Awesome God, please continue to give us the gift of lively conversation, endless service, satisfying food. For us and all Your children, we pray in Your name. Amen.

When I read Dennis E. Smith’s article “Dinner with Jesus & Paul,” I realized that meals were not just for sustenance of the body but they were to be taken as food for the mind and soul, as well. Yes, there was a certain hierarchical nature to these meals, but there was so much more. There was conversation including all participants of the meal. There was a serving quality (foot-washing, for example) that added to the “personalness” of the event. There was a sharing of each other as the participants got better acquainted with each other. To a certain degree, this is missing today. Yes, we still talk over a meal, but the closeness of strangers is seen, today, contradictorily. How often do we invite a stranger to sit with us as we dine? I’m not just referring to a new member of the seminary/church family, I’m referring to those outside, those “outsiders” that normally wouldn’t “seem to fit in.” Have we welcomed these members in; have we offered a “position of honor” to those who are not in our same perceived social class? This prayer, I believe addresses this. Jesus welcomed the tax collector, the stranger, the sinner just as Jesus would welcome the emperor, the Pharisee, the elite. May we do the same.

Table Blessing #3 – Bruce G.

Gracious God: Bless this meal and all who are invited to it. May this experience bring all to the understanding that the needs of all, those present and those absent, are most important. The conversations, the service to others, the meal itself are given to us by You in order that we share all with our sisters and brothers; their needs are thus met with this gracious gift of hospitality. Awesome God, please continue to give us the gift of lively conversation, endless service, satisfying food. For us and all Your children, we pray in Your name. Amen.

When I read Dennis E. Smith’s article “Dinner with Jesus & Paul,” I realized that meals were not just for sustenance of the body but they were to be taken as food for the mind and soul, as well. Yes, there was a certain hierarchical nature to these meals, but there was so much more. There was conversation including all participants of the meal. There was a serving quality (foot-washing, for example) that added to the “personalness” of the event. There was a sharing of each other as the participants got better acquainted with each other. To a certain degree, this is missing today. Yes, we still talk over a meal, but the closeness of strangers is seen, today, contradictorily. How often do we invite a stranger to sit with us as we dine? I’m not just referring to a new member of the seminary/church family, I’m referring to those outside, those “outsiders” that normally wouldn’t “seem to fit in.” Have we welcomed these members in; have we offered a “position of honor” to those who are not in our same perceived social class? This prayer, I believe addresses this. Jesus welcomed the tax collector, the stranger, the sinner just as Jesus would welcome the emperor, the Pharisee, the elite. May we do the same.

table grace #2

As we come into winter, all of a sudden, the harvesting season sends us underground, eating more of the "hearts" of plants than the heads. Think lettuce, corn, tomatoes, vs. potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, kohlrabi and other root veg. As I think of how these heads and hearts are connected to my own I remember the rhythms of slowing and conserving energy through the winter. As I tucked into my apartment and ate hot soup during the wind storm this weekend, I thought of those who are perpetually stuck outside, without food to warm and energize them. This prayer comes out of that thought.

God of heads and hearts,
We give you thanks for the food that nourishes our bodies and our minds. We remember that the heads and hearts of produce are connected to our own. As we continue into months of fasting in this creation, help us to remember those whose heads and hearts come into need. Help us to nourish them not only with nutrition, but with grace, solidarity and love.
In your name we pray, Amen.

Autumn Thanks

Dear Lord,

Thank you for bring us into this new season.
Help us to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us in the falling of leaves, the changing of colors and the smell of the fresh, crisp air.
Comfort us as we grieve for loved ones no longer with us on earth.
Bring your blessings forth upon our farmers and your land that they care for and cultivate with food for all of us.
Let the crops be bountiful this year and let us rejoice in the abundance you sustain and provide us with daily.
Protect those who are fearful of their safety in places such as India, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and even here, in the ghettos and homes of America where gang violence and domestic abuse are prevalent.
Surround us all in your presence Lord, let your love reign on this earth and bring joy and healing to it and all of your peoples.

Amen.

As a seminarian my family and friends always invite me to provide table grace at meals. I do not memorize prayers, I speak from my heart and the words flow out. This is my style of prayer in services too when I pray for the community. In this prayer I wanted to remember the new season of autumn which I love. I try to embrace the beauty and gifts of each season. With my family background in agriculture, harvest is a key time that is a very anxious time. When should the crops be harvested? When will the first frost come? What if it snows or rains and the fields are too muddy to get the crops out of the field? Will the crops yield enough to cover our bills this year? I also remember those who have died as All Saints Day comes closer and my boyfriend's best friend died this last week. It is a time for grief and comforting of those who mourn. As for violence across our globe, we have neighbors in need and suffering who daily face violence and threats to their security that we have no concept of. I like to remember and remind others that this violence is not just outside of America. Violence exists in our communities also. As I go to these darker places, I remember at the conclusion that God is with us, God is with us and with me. We are not alone.

2nd Table Blessing

Be present Lord and help us to be more present in our day
You know all our needs and wants Lord, and provide what is necessary
Open our eyes to the needs around us because living is not just for ourselves
Amen

In this class and in another we are talking about Creation and something that keeps coming back to me is selfishness. If I were to be asked to give a table blessing today, I would go something like this to act as a reminder.

Grace and Joy: Gwen's Second Tablegrace

Creating God,
Thank you for all that you have made with grace and joy. Re-form us and help us to rejoice in your creation, other creatures, and in food. Help us to be thankful. May our gratitude move us to joyfully share our food, our gifts, and ourselves with others.

After reading Born Again Bodies and Starving for Salvation, I am more aware of the problems that we as individuals and as a society have with food. Reading Sharing Food reconnected me to the joy of food, eating and sharing food. On Reformation Sunday, I pray that all of us can be re-formed to see the joy of eating and be thankful for food and not burdened by it.

Ellen's 2nd Blessing

Gracious God of abundance, you have created a world that produces food to feed us all. We thank you for what you have provided for us to eat today, and pray for your help in sharing your abundance so the hungry may be satisfied. Grant us awareness of our neighbors, and opportunities to show your love by sharing ourselves.

In the name of your Son, Jesus, who fed the multitudes.

AMEN

On Friday, I helped serve breakfast to 133 people at Living Room Cafe. It made me aware of how much difference nine blocks make, and that many people there ate breakfast as though it might be their only meal that day.

October 26 blessing from nan

For this day O God, we give you thanks, as we remember and reflect on the work of those who harvest our food. As the season changes, farmers are working long hours to gather and bring their crops for the market. May we be ever mindful of their labors, so that we may have food. May we receive the bounty of nature, and consciously choose to only eat what we need, so that the food may be mroe equitably shared with others. God of the Harvest, hear our prayer. Amen.


I wrote this prayer in response to the many harvesters I saw working in their fields today while driving west through Illinois. I was reminded of the recent presentation by our colleagues about farm subsidies, the pros and cons, but more particularly of the families who are struggling to compete with conglomerate agricultural companies. Be we ever mindful of how the food comes from the ground to our tables.

grace #2 Michelle

God of Abundant Joy
You spread before us a rainbow of
purple eggplant
red peppers
orange carrots
zucchini, apples, squash, berries-
you delight our senses.
May we delight in you delighting
in your creation
-and be ever thankful for your
Joy in providing Abundance.


I enjoyed the sensuality of the Song of Songs article and the playful motif of the other one and wished to somehow capture those themes of mutual engagement and delight in the other (without getting too sexy for a table grace!). Also was thinking of the Noah's rainbow expressed in the diversity of creation but namely fruits and vegetables as in S of S. Starting out with ordered color/vegetable and then letting it get a little "wild" I was hoping to express the vastness of beauty and color and smell and taste...

Grace #2 - Denise P.

Gracious Lord,
we thank you for this opportunity to accept the hospitality
of the earth in the form of this food before us. We thank you for the soil
and the sunshine and the rain. We thank you for those who cared for it and
harvested its goodness for us to enjoy. We remember those who do not know
these blessings and ask you to use the energy we will derive from this
nourishment to correct these injustices. Strengthen our bodies, our minds
and our hearts to offer your infinite hospitality to those around us.
Amen.

As I finished the work on the teaching event we have planned on the Bible and hospitality, I appreciated the gift that the earth is to us as a sign of God’s hospitality, offering us shelter and food as we journey. Our divinely ordained task is to learn how to share this bounty with equity, to ensure that all travelers know God’s mercy.

David's Table Grace #2

Lord Christ,
Firstborn of all that is,
All our being comes from you.

You are our Nourishment.
You are our Host.
You feed us with your very self.

We give you thanks for these gifts of this table.
May they remind us of the table of rich foods you set for all people.
And as you are our divine Host,
may we serve as your hosts for all.

Amen.

This grace was inspired by the reading I've done on Biblical hospitality for my teaching event. Christ is truly the perfect Host, not only inviting us to his table, but feeding us with his very self.

Hospitality was practiced in the ancient world between social unequals. There was no possibility of reciprocation. We can't possibly reciprocate Christ for our very existence and continued nourishment, but we can act as hosts of Christ's table for others, whether in worship, at the food pantry, or hosting in our homes.

There are several Scriptural references. Christ as "firstborn of all that is" alludes to Colossians 1. I am borrowing from Isaiah 25 for the image of Christ's table. Also, I was inspired by Julian of Norwich's comparison of Christ to a nurturing mother -- "Our Blessed Mother Jesus feeds us with his very self."

Of course, "Host" is an intended word play!

Emily's 3rd Table Blessing

God of Abundance, in your perfect design the earth provides us all we need. In this season of harvest, we thank you for the huge variety of gifts that you provide us for the table and as winter approaches, we think of those who are less fortunate than us. Bless this food, and bless those who eat it to be a blessing to others. Amen.

One of the things that I have been trying to do this semester is focus on eating foods that are seasonal. In autumn, God gives us a plethora of choices that seem to reflect the fall colors outside: such as squashes, apples, potatoes, and carrots. In summer and autumn, God provides far more than we could possibly eat, even in the smallest of gardens, so we must save and share with others. It seems to be such a blessing that we are reminded of God's abundance just before the cold winter closes in on us.

Thanks to God, the Bodymaker

Blessed are you, O God, Bodymaker.

You formed our bodies, you breathe into
them each moment your breath of life, and you sustain them with food.

Praised be you for our bodies, praised be you for our breath, praised be you for
our food.

Give us today enough for our needs, give us today enough to
share, and give us today the willingness and desire to use our bodies for your
service. AMEN

This prayer begins in the traditional Hebrew manner with a blessing of God. The epithet for God that I chose, “Bodymaker,” recognizes God as the good source of our bodies, which our dualistic leanings sometimes cause us to look down upon. We fear that flesh is evil, rather than the good gift that God has created. We wrongly look at our bodies as only vessels for carrying around the “important” part of us, our spirit and our soul. But God has created all three as a unity, and the body is not to be despised, it is to be honored with the other components of our beings. Our bodies are part of our praise for the Creating God, and God cares for them with tenderness.

Brahm's 2nd Grace

God our provider,
We give you thanks for
the food on our table…
the hands that prepared it…
and all the gifts that come from You…
We ask you to be with
those who are hungry…
those who flee war and violence…
those who seek justice…
We pray that you help us bridge the gap between
rich and poor…
healthy and malnourished…
whole and broken…
Through our Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen.

This prayer has a three part structure.
In the first part, I acknowledge that God is our provider, and that all things come through God. For this we give thanks. I also recognize that the food that I eat comes through many hands, most of which I do not know, and I give thanks for those who take care in preparing food for others.
The second section, after recognizing that God is our provider, recognizes while this is the case, there is much brokenness and pain in the world. I ask God to be present with those who suffer and are afraid and who struggle to obtain the basic substances of life, the things we thanked God for in the first section.
The final section identifies what I believe my Christian calling is, to be a bridge to help gap the great divides that are present in this world. This is in response to what God has done for me through Christ. It invokes the essence of the Lord’s prayer, “your kingdom come on earth as in heaven.” God calls us not to be passive in waiting for the kingdom, but active in lifting up aspects of that kingdom now; things like equality, peace, justice, and wholeness.
All this is done through our Savior, for we cannot by our own abilities or understanding accomplish this on our own.
Amen

Happy Food

Juanita's 2nd Table Blessing

This table blessing could be used for a youth gathering snack time.

Dear God,
Hear us, your children, for today we give you thanks for happy food, fun food and good times. We ask that you bless the happy, funny, and silly food that helps to bring our family and friends closer together. We give you thanks for fluffy cotton candy and bubble gum bubbles. We give thanks for yummy birthday cake and ice cream of all flavors. We give thanks for cookies and lollipops and buttery popcorn. (Have the children call out their favorite fun food). Most of all God we ask that you bless the special people who share our Happy Food. Amen.

I Thought about this Happy Food Blessing because when my granddaughter comes to visit, besides preparing a meal, I make sure that I have her favorite snacks like animal and goldfish crackers. I also remembered how much I enjoyed sharing snacks with my friends as a grade school child.

God's Blessings To All,
Juanita Krmaschek

Grace #2 Jon Bergstrom

God of Abundance,
We give you thanks for the many machines, hands, and soil
that produced this food we are about to eat.
Help us to remember our rural brothers and sisters in this country and around the world.
Let us remember countries’ right to food sovereignty
even as we remember your sovereignty in our lives.
Supply us with more than calories.
Supply us with nutrients that will help empower us to do your work.
Amen


This grace comes from my studies about farm subsidies over the past couple of weeks. I wanted first to remember how intricately our food in the US is connected with industry, as well as the traditional connections with farmers and soil. For many of us, this is good because it enables our lifestyles away from the farm. But many of our problems in the agricultural sector come from the rapid proliferation of industrial agriculture. This has led to the decline of many of our rural areas in the US. And the massive overproduction that it enables has also led to the continual oppression of rural peoples in developing countries. This is why I pray for all those living in rural environments. The prayer for food sovereignty reflects a principle that says countries should be enabled to grow the food they eat and not have their livelihoods destroyed by free market agricultural trading. And the final part about nutrition and calories comes from a reading I did that mentions how in the US, calories are cheap (because corn subsidies make high-fructose corn syrup cheap) whereas actual balanced nutrition is more expensive and harder to acquire. We should support efforts that try to make healthier food more affordable.

Table Blessing #2 - Bruce G

Dear Maker of all things: You alone have made us what we are. Let us rejoice in the creation of life. Help us to understand, and to play out in our lives, that You alone are the One responsible for our height, our weight, our color, our demeanor, our likes and our dislikes. Help us understand that You love us no matter what. Help us understand that changing ourselves, trying to “better” ourselves will not change how You love us. Help us to remember we are justified through Your grace, if only we’d have faith to see this. As we sit down to share this meal, grant us peace and satisfaction in the food placed before us; may it satisfy our desires to change and bring us closer to the real Creator. We thank You for this meal, for those we share it with, and ask Your blessings upon all who share together the bounty You have placed before us. May Your wonderful Creation of nourishment be shared with all Your children, those present and those in need. We pray these words, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This prayer comes from contemplating over Starving for Salvation. We all try to look our best, we all try to make ourselves into something other than who we are. The prayer comes from the hope that we can realize God has made us in a form that God wants us to be. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll never be Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods or Tony Romo for God made me me alone. Starving to the point of weakness and death is not what God intends for us. This won’t make us more pleasing to God. Nothing we do will make God love us less.