Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The 40 Day Journey

Home
Progressive Christian
Food and Religion
Day 8: Comfort Food

Day 8: Comfort Food

Last updated on: February 26, 2015 at 1:01 am by MargaretAnne Overstreet

Day 8: Comfort Food 2015-02-25T23:05:13-07:00 MargaretAnne Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Certainly, eating is an agricultural act, connecting us to those who grow and harvest the food.

Of course, eating is also an ecological act, tying us to the land and the environment.

Eating is even a political act, as we use each and every food dollar to cast our ‘vote’ about how we want the world to be used and the kind of food system we support.

The sacredness of the Lord’s Supper or the Passover meal remind us that eating is also a religious act.

And there can be no doubt that eating is an emotional act, a deeply intimate experience. If we imagine our very first meal – warmly swaddled, gently held, and lovingly spoken to – we begin to understand how food becomes connected to our idea of emotional comfort and security. From birth, we began to associate a full belly with a sense of well-being.

While that is an important part of the human experience, later in life we come to the realization that “comfort food” is not always food that fosters justice. However, when food is tied up with our sense of emotional well-being, it may be hard for us to look without bias at our own food choices, and the implications of those choices.

Those who follow Christ seek to see as God sees, not only to recognize the beauty in all creation – whether it is in the sweetness of the strawberry or the tangy flavor of the cheese – but also to identify injustices that call out for our attention.

Eating is a sacred and intimate act with environmental and political and global implications. Deepening our awareness about what we are eating can help us make choices that are increasingly more just.

As we seek to be more aware, we will focus on 4 questions:

Where does your food come from?

How was it grown/raised?

When are you eating it?

Why are you eating it?

———————————-

Lenten Calendar for FEBRUARY 26

Consider the place of food in our society. Ask God to show you what is broken in our food system.

————————————

We need your stories!

We’re already looking ahead to the 40 Days for Food Justice Project for 2016 and we’re looking for more stories, experiences, prayers and resources about food justice and food injustice.
If you would like to contribute – or would like to recommend a contributor – please send us an email and let us know.

About:

In addition to being the founder and editor-in-chief of the “40 Days for Food Justice Project”, the Rev. MargaretAnne Overstreet is a mom, a Presbyterian pastor, and a certified Health Coach. She does ministry with and among the good people of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Belleville, Illinois, where she gets her hands dirty in the community garden and, every Sunday, preaches with bare feet. She treasures family time, relishes every opportunity to teach and write about food justice, and loves to play outside with her dogs. Find out more about her at www.AnInBetweenPlace.com

Food Justice

2015

Day8

Previous Post

February 25, 2015

Day 7: A Single Right Answer

Next Post

February 26, 2015 Day 9: Where does your food come from?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Food Justice

Select a Month March 2015 February 2015 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What nature miracle did Jesus perform during a storm on the sea?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Calmed the wind and waves Fed the crew Walked on water Turned water to oil