Sharing the Table At Home Menu

This is a menu - don’t try to eat it all! Pick one or two suggestions to try at home.

“The connection between food and spirit is strong. Mindful eating reminds us that the Divine Spark that is active in all of humanity is active in plants and animals as well.” - From The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress

Thank you to Teacher Becky for crafting this resource list!

Printable menus are below.

For Adults

Appetizer: Getting hungry for spiritual practice
- For one day, pay particular attention to what you eat. The goal isn't to track calories or nutrition, but simply to notice how different foods make you feel spiritually, emotionally, and physically. - From The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress
- Sometimes there’s no way to avoid wolfing down onion rings in your cubicle. But if you set aside one sit-down meal a week as an experiment in mindfulness, how might the insights influence everything else you do? From: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html

Main Course: Tasting the practice
- Suggestions for mindful eating from the New York Times:
  - When you eat, just eat. Unplug the electronica. For now, at least, focus on the food.
  - Chew patiently. It’s not easy, but try to slow down, aiming for 25 to 30 chews for each mouthful.
  - Plant a garden, and cook. Anything that reconnects you with the process of creating food will magnify your mindfulness.
  - Use flowers and candles. Put them on the table before dinner. Rituals that create a serene environment help foster what one advocate calls “that moment of gratitude.”
  - Contemplate. Notice the enjoyment of spice, crunch, saltiness, warmth, tenderness and like-minded company.
  - Think about the origins of the food: the thousands of farmers, truck drivers and laborers whose work had brought it here.
  - Rev. Amelia writes, “With only a brief meditation, I can feel a sense of mystery, wonder, and gratitude over the number of people who played a role in getting me this seemingly simple beverage [that I am drinking] …. Food is a miracle.”

Dessert: Using the practice to sweeten my life
- Add a touch of whimsy to a family meal. Have breakfast for dinner or, my favorite, dinner for breakfast. Have a popcorn buffet, eat dessert first, or make a “finger foods only” rule one night. Cultivate joy. - From The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress
- Grow something unexpected, whether it's a windowsill pot or a new plant in an outdoor garden. No matter whether the experiment is a success or a failure, enjoy the process of seeing what happens. - From The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress

Digest: Absorbing the meaning of the practice
- Read Chapter 4, “Sharing the Table: Nurturing Connection,” in The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress (available on Kindle)
- “The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture.” - Michael Pollan

For Youth

Appetizer: Getting hungry for spiritual practice
- Journal your responses to these questions:
  - Can you think of some important mealtimes in your life?
  - What made them special?
  - How did they make you feel?
- Brainstorm some ways you could increase your connection with food at school, at work, and at home.

Main Course: Tasting the practice
- Here’s a fun way to experience eating mindfully:
  - Start by holding an orange and rolling it in your hand, noticing how it feels.
  - Hold the orange close to your nose and take a sniff. Think about what it smells like.
  - Pay attention to what it looks like and what it feels like.
  - Peel your orange mindfully, and stay present.
  - Taste the orange, noting the flavor, the texture, the juiciness, etc. From: https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-kids/

Dessert: Using the practice to sweeten my life
- Get involved in a local food justice or environmental organization to strengthen your connection with the earth. The National Director for Food and Faith at the Jewish organization Hazon said that “the joy that many people find in the work of faith-based food and climate advocacy is the way it connects their day-to-day life, their religion, and their desire to make the world a better place.” How are feeding the hungry and working toward saving our environment spiritual acts?

Digest: Absorbing the meaning of the practice
- Rev. Amelia writes, “Jesus's ministry often included food, perhaps because he knew the power of a good meal to both nurture spirits and build bridges.” A couple of examples are feeding a crowd with only a few loaves of bread and a few fish, and the meal on the road to Emmaus when his friends recognized him once they were eating together. How is sharing food with your friends a spiritual act?

For Kids

Appetizer: Getting hungry for spiritual practice
- Draw a picture of people who sit around your table at home to eat a meal.
- Now draw on the table the favorite foods your family likes to eat. Do your favorite foods include dairy products like milk and cheese? What vegetables does your family like to eat? What fruits, breads, and meats (if any) do you eat? What are your favorite desserts?
- What is each person usually talking about at meal time? - From Lifelong Faith Associates

Main Course: Tasting the practice
- The kids in this video teach us how to eat more “mindfully.”

https://www.mindfulschools.org/video/how-to-eat-more-mindfully

Dessert: Using the practice to sweeten my life
- Follow the Bible’s advice on how to “eat well”:
  - Work together to gather and prepare food.
  - Thank God for your food before you eat it.
  - Share your food with others.
  - Gather the leftovers—make sure you don’t waste anything!
  - Share stories with one another as you eat.
  - Celebrate important days with a special meal. - From Lifelong Faith Associates
- What do you think you could do to be more aware of the food you and your family eat? Here are some ideas!
  - I could help prepare our meals.
  - I could lead grace and thank God for our many blessings.
  - I could gather food from our neighbors to give to the local food pantry.
  - I could make sure the television is off while we eat.
  - I could set the table or decorate it for a special meal. - From Lifelong Faith Associates

Digest: Absorbing the meaning of the practice
- There are many stories in the Bible about Jesus eating with people. For example, Luke 9:10-17 can teach us a lot about eating well!

For Families

Appetizer: Getting hungry for spiritual practice
- As a family, talk about how meal-times have changed through the years as the family has grown up.
- Share with the children what your meal-times were like as a child, and how you felt about that time. - From The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress

Main Course: Tasting the practice
- Make more time to eat together as a family:
  - There are many benefits to eating a meal together. Family meals can help with forming good eating habits, nourishing a good relationship with food, achieving better grades and self-esteem, having increased resilience to the hard times, improving relationships in the family, and more.
  - Consider trying to brainstorm as a family about how to spend more time eating together at the table.
  - These are a few of the ideas that a church group came up with:
    - Plan meals a week at a time, and cook several at a time so that there's more time to be together.
    - If having dinner together won't work, how about having breakfast together?
    - Have one night a week be free of outside activities.
- Practice “mindful eating” at the table together:
  - Avoid the distraction of having phones, tablets and television on during meals.
  - Use meal time to try new foods, have good conversation, and focus on eating (not multitasking).
  - Ask everyone to describe what their food looks like, smells like, and tastes like.
  - As a family, trace a favorite food on its journey to your table. How is it grown or raised? How many hands helped it get to you? Include a prayer of gratitude for each step along the way.
- Suggestions taken from The Hopeful Family: Raising Resilient Children in Uncertain Times by Amelia Richardson Dress

Dessert: Using the practice to sweeten my life
- Use food to celebrate life:
  - In what ways does your family celebrate life now and include food while you celebrate?
  - In what new ways can your family form a ritual/celebration around eating food? For example, Rev. Amelia’s family uses a special plate for all birthdays.
  - Can you imagine ways that your family could celebrate life while providing food to others as a form of service?
- "Celebrating life is not a party, but an ongoing awareness that every moment is special and asks to be lifted up and recognized as a blessing from on high." - Henri Nouwen in Following Jesus
- For more ideas check out: https://www.crcna.org/FaithPracticesProject/celebration