Food and Faith

The youth group has been focusing on food quite a bit lately. To be fair there has almost always been plenty of food to go along with our activities. But we have taken up the whole process ourselves lately. Everything from planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and eating, to cleaning up. We have experimented with odd combinations like hot dogs and fried rice or pizza and macaroni and cheese. One of the favorites, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, has become a standard part of the program. And bananas. We always have bananas. And toast. Toast seems to go with everything, too.

We shop for deals. We take turns cooking. There are a blessed few that almost always wash dishes. Making our meals together has become an important part of sharing our lives together. We have a lot of fun conversations and can talk about whatever anyone wants or needs to talk about. A lot of good things happen over shared food.

We used to ask families to sign up for the Sunday evening snack supper, but fewer and fewer people seemed to be able to work it in to their schedules. That was frustrating to me, but then I realized I was just adding another big task to a family's crowded schedule and endless to-do lists. I was close to sending out a guilt-laden letter about priorities, but that just never felt right. So I like that we've figured it out in a positive way. To be clear, there is always room for anyone that wants to host. So if cooking and serving is your thing, just let me know and we will find a date that works.

Jesus did a lot of ministry centered around food and gatherings of people. That's certainly one of my favorite ways to continue his ministry and connect people to faith. Food nourishes and refreshes and satisfies in wonderful ways just like faith does. Putting the two together is a great way to go.

Be Blessed!
Michael