This is my favorite time of year to visit the farmstand. The bounty and diversity just fill my heart with joy. Any kind of shape or color, any taste or texture can be found at the farmstand this time of year. As I walk through the aisles and imagine dinner plans, I take note of the familiar characters: Tomato and Basil for a caprese salad, Celery and Carrot for a cozy stew. I also am intrigued by the less familiar varieties: alien-looking Kohlrabi and a giant winter squash by the name of Georgia Candy Roaster. What delicious, new-to-me possibilities lie right at my fingertips?

 

When I step back to take in, not just the farmstand, but the whole farm and all the workers, I am bursting with awe and gratitude. Gratitude for the Earth, which provides us with sustaining nourishment and delightful tastes, and for the laborers who take on the back-breaking work, rain or shine, of tending to the plants that give all of us life. The short grace that we say in my home is, “Countless beings have died and labored that we may eat. May we be nourished that we may nourish life.” It comes from the Unitarian Universalist tradition, but doesn’t it sound an awful lot like our communion?

               

At the NHCUCC Clergy Convocation in September we reflected on the meanings and impacts of communion at great length. When we practice communion, we give thanks. We remember that God created Grain and Grape and called them good, and God called us to steward them. We give thanks and remember that in partaking of the bread and juice we are both nourished and called to nourish. Just like the intricate food web connects us all to farmers and pollinators and bakers and vintners, communion connects us all in the body of Christ. Many diverse parts, one body. Called to do good in this world in response to gratitude for this gift of life.

               

My dear fellow members of the body of Christ, fellow creatures of the body of the Earth, my prayer for you is this: May God’s abundance bring you familiar comforts, new recipes, deepened relationships, and fresh perspectives in this season. May you be nourished, that you may continue to nourish life.

 

Blessed be,

Pastor Alison