Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Which is more important food or God?

In our continuing series on Spiritual disciplines inspired by Flunking Sainthood by Janna Reis, this week we looked at two spiritual disciplines around food:   fasting and vegetarianism.   Reis observed how important food is our world and that by fasting it takes attention away from food and gives it to God.   In giving up meat, Reis suggests that animals are not placed on earth simply for human consumption or use, but should be valued as an important part of God's creation.  

So this week the spirital disciplines we try can be done in three levels of challenge:
   Easiest:   Give up meat for one meal this week, and bring to church the money you would have spent on food and we will give it to the Friendly Kitchen, an organization which operates a soup kitchen in Concord.
    Not so Easy:    Give up meat for the week, and bring to church the money you would have spent on food and we will give the money to the Friendly Kitchen.
    Most Challenging:   Try fasting for a day (from sun-up to sun-down), continuing to drink liquids but no food (this is only for those healthy enough to do this).   On Sunday, bring the money you would have spent on food and we will give it to the Friendly Kitchen.

There will be an opportunity in worship on Sunday to share your experiences with giving up meat or fasting.  May these experiments bring you closer to God.

No comments: