Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The intersection of food and faith

Although there are many reasons why I began growing and preserving so much of our food, security was not one of them. I came into this arena primarily for health reasons. Yet early on, my friend Jeannie would come to our house during growing season and declare that if there were a crisis in the world, she knew where to come to be well-fed.

I’m thinking about this aspect of what we do more as I prepare to speak on a panel at the Bluegrass Food Security Summit, March 18 and 19. I’ll be serving on a panel that is considering the intersection of faith and food. One friend told me last week that those two things aren’t items she had every connected before. For me, however, they’ve been integrally intertwined since my childhood. I believe that a bit of God lives in each of us so it’s my responsibility to take care of this “home” for God. I also believe that I am called to be a servant, to imitate Jesus in the love he showed for his fellow humans. I have but one body with which to carry out that mission, so taking care of it is of major importance.

Faith and food, however, come together in more aspects than only how the food nourishes our individual bodies. Thinking of this intersection brings to mind community, care for creation, the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world. I’ll be exploring some of those aspects as I prepare for the conference. If you’re in central Kentucky, I encourage you to check out the summit and join this conversation about our food and our future.

No comments:

Post a Comment