Food as Sacrament; 

One of the very first papers I wrote as I began my MA degree in the history of Christianity 
was on the history of the use of bread and wine as elements of worship …as communion with 
the divine.  

What I realized in working on that paper was the reality that for ancient peoples and in particular for our ancestors in faith, producing and eating food was considered a mediation with the divine. So it was not by some accident or discontinuity that Jesus at the Last Supper  said:  “Take and Eat for this is my Body.”   This was not some strange new formula … food was always the gift of God’s self to the world and it remains so.  We symbolize this larger reality when we partake of the Eucharist, but the act of eating is always a sacrament.. a sacred act. 

As Betsy so poignantly pointed out a few Sundays ago, praying unceasingly is a biblical ideal, perhaps never possible in reality.  There are times however when praying, communing with God, takes different forms and many of these moments centre on food. 

Sadly, for many food has become quite problematic in our culture … not enough, but too much waste, poor quality, made a commodity for profit, poisoned, etc. 

Next Sunday we have an opportunity to spend an hour just focusing on issues around food. 
Do come and listen to Lil Macpherson’s presentation on some of these issues, raise questions, and share a light lunch together. 
AND if you have decided to come, we would appreciate it greatly if you would let us know by registering either on-line or just by speaking to one of us … at the Pancake lunch downstairs today, or as you leave the sanctuary after worship. 
We do need to have a sense of the number of people in order to provide food to share and to help Wayne with the setup. It would also be nice to be able to let Lil know how many folks she will be addressing. 

Thank you for your attention and enjoy the pancakes!!