The Food is Blessed

I will not grumble about other people's prayer practices! I will not grumble about other people's prayer practices! I will not grumble about other people's prayer practices! I will not grumble about other people's prayer practices!


Wait! Who do people think this is? This RantWoman! OF COURSE RantWoman will grumble about other people's prayer practices.

Recently RantWoman was at an event involving representatives of many faith communities. Readers of this blog may be able to guess at the event but RantWoman means at least to TRY to move ahead with positive relations. RantWoman arrived not expecting to be offered a meal and was very grateful to be surprised on that score.

The surprise for which RantWoman was grateful: a wonderful meal of pasta, salad, rolls. NICE brewed coffee and dessert. The menu included CLOTH napkins, solid metal tableware, quality ceramic plates, cups--and saucers, lovely glass water glasses. RantWoman has the impression that there was catering involved or else a very evolved hospitality committee. The ONLY thing RantWoman might quibble about: this would probably not be such a nice meal if one has problems about both wheat and dairy; RantWoman for better or worse has problems about neither and came away very well nourished.

So WHAT is the problem?

This event involved representatives of many faith communities and especially many pastors and denominational staff. As one might expect in such a crowd, someone was asked to offer a blessing. The pastor who spoke explained that his husband is a buddhist, they have one son who is a Unitarian and another son who they wish were something. (sympathetic chuckles). At their household they gather and hold hands and the blessing that came to him for the evening is that the food is blessed by those gathered to eat it.

Okay, sure. Good company is a blessing. The earth is full of bounty for us to appreciate. But wait just a doggone minute! RantWoman of late has been feeling great pangs. RantWoman personally at present does not even sow or reap so much as a chive, let alone do the kind of backbreaking field or factory labor involved in getting the plenty to our tables. RantWoman is acutely conscious that the same imbalances in our food system that make obesity far too easy for RantWoman also mean many are hungry too high a percentage of the time.

And RantWoman does not even want to get started on immigration, the workers who harvest much of our food, their families here and there, wherever there is. Because of course, if RantWoman did get started, pokey evolution along some dimenstions would be inadequate and there would be need for lightning and thunderbolts and wings of fire exhortations, for God's sakes Gosh darn it to FIX OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM. And in the meantime, bless the food and thebounty and all the people who have labored to bring it before us.

All RantWoman has to say, the ONLY thing keeping RantWoman from going all John Woolman on the situation: RantWoman is REALLY, REALLY glad that the program agenda those assembled are working on implicity and perhaps explicitly includes concern for immigrant rights!