Food and Faith

I was blessed to celebrate my graduation with my supervisor from my ministry setting last year by visiting Blue Hills at Stone Barns. For more information about their philosophy around food, please visit their website at http://bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-stone-barns/

Lise and I opted for the 8 course meal, a three and a half hour experience. And it truly was an experience. The courses change each month based off of the fresh produce at the farm. Our courses included: fresh veggies from the farm displayed on different size woods in order to have each person dining eat as if they are picking up own veggies to eat from the ground, fresh salad displayed on a large board with yoguart (which keeps the different veggies from wilting), a pan seered scallop with lemon zest, pea stew with fresh veggies and an egg, bread with local butter and carrot and asparagus salt, premature chicken egg pasta, hallobit, cheese with rubarb sorbee, coffee and tea, and a chocolate covered hazlenet, a milkshake, and a chocolate covered pralene. Please note that this is still forgetting a course!

While we were eating, my chief thought was how much the church has to learn from Blue Hills! The servers were wonderful and attentive. Shortly after we sat down one of the wait staff came over and talked with Lise about her past experience at the restaurant. While Lise is in fact, Lise, and found her way into the kitchen to work one night after her dining experience! Just the fact that they remembered her shocked us both. It also gave us a wonderful opportunity to speak with them about our ministries and passions for food.

In addition to the attentiveness, everyone was so kind. From the valet, to the greeter at the door, and the conceriage.

Of course all was not smooth - when the immature chicken egg was explained and displayed we both sort of lost it. Lise then made the comment to me that sometimes we need to be careful about our words and explanations, because what is so familiar to us, is new to someone else.

With all of this at hand, I started to think about what the church could learn from such an experience. First, we need to think about what we are saying and who we are saying it to. Are our words approachable? And is our experience overall one that is full of attentiveness to all those gathered, where grace is communicated in a gentle way? Our we kind to those in our midst? Do we remember people beyond their names? And does their experience with those gathered change them?

Food has a lot to teach us about of faith!