Rev. AndreaGrace reflects…
I’m Italian and we like to eat. A lot of our socialization revolves around the dinner table – for better or worse. ☺
The importance of eating together
In reality, there is a lot that happens at the dinner table. Many different research points to the physical, emotional and social benefits of eating a meal together. Additionally, for some families, it is a time to stop and pray, to reinforce spiritual traditions, to practice gratitude or other types of mindfulness. The Family Dinner Project is an organization dedicated to this with helpful hints.
Celebrating Passover
I’m so mindful of the many families who will gather this week at tables for Passover Seders. I’ve been praying for shalom and other blessings on these circles of love – all around the world.
In this One Spirit, I offer a poem I wrote after sharing another dinner.
As I was getting ready to post, I received a God-wink, a coincidence, God’s way of becoming known.
At This Table with Kemp Harris
One of my favorite songs in ministry is At This Table by Idina Menzel. It seems to encompass what I hope and pray will be reality for all who gather to pray with me – at whatever table we are at. Kemp Harris sang this song at my priestly ordination and he just sang it for us at the Easter Vigil Mass. Then, as I was preparing the post, he just happened to send me a recording of him singing it as a thank-you for a kindness I offered him.
It’s your turn to prayerfully ponder
Read the poem below At The Dinner Table.
Notice what resonates with you. Did you eat dinner with others growing up? What about now? What is a memorable meal you shared? What about holiday dinners - then and now? Whom might you want to “break bread” with in the coming week?
Listen to the song, At This Table, being sung by Kemp Harris.
What touches you? Stirs you? Have you felt this way at someone’s table? Do people feel this way at your table? Have you ever felt this way in a spiritual community – at any type of altar?
At The Dinner Table
Penned on February 24, 2024 by Rev. AndreaGrace
all our lives we’ve been
sitting around the table
sharing a meal
it doesn’t matter which table
what the meal was
or who was present
it is the ritual
the routine with emotions
emotions of comfort
of belonging
of being seen and heart
of familiarity
of sharing
of serving
of learning
of receiving input and support
of problem-sovling
of recounting
of laughing
and maybe even of crying
and yesterday was no different
and when a beloved elder in my family was hospitalized
and all four of his adult children showed up at his bedside
and the nurse asked how that came to be
he simply said:
it all begins at the dinner table
At This Table being sung by Kemp Harris
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