Food and belonging

[James Henley]

A couple of times over the last week or so different people have made comments to me about how eating together helps to grow community. Even just thinking about it, it seems bizarre that the simple act of sitting down and eating can do so much to bring people together. In The Search to Belong, Joe Myers talks alot about creating healthy environments in which people can begin to belong - and maybe this is where we can learn from the model of eating together.

(I don't normally like numbers and points and things but it's probably the best way to make this nearly readable)

1. Resources are shared or created by or for the community
In order to eat, someone has to bring and share, or the community has to collectively make food to eat. There's a sense of investment in the group, and of ownership - this is our group, we belong together.

2. You can choose when to...


Read more...

http://jameshenley.typepad.co.uk/blog/2008/02/food-and-belong.html

[Karen Ward]

Joe is a friend of mine from the Emergent Village Board. His book is great! We gather around food much at COTA with our twice a month community 'feeds' and alms box for those who are poor at all our liturgies + we are hoping to open an non-profit organic cafe in our Fremont Abbey, as food, thanksgiving and faith (eucharistia) are soul mates.

Cheers

[Sara Miles]

Thanks for your post. It is ALL about eating together...in fact I'd say a good working definition of church is: eat together and praise God.
As Jesus says, my flesh is real food.
Having family meal is what we did to build our Friday congregation of outcasts and misfits, and that's what sustains us. It's the central thing I'd do to start a new church.
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