Grace over our Feast
Prayer of St Norman
patron saint of hungry middle aged slightly balding asian men… with spectacles
Dear God
Thank you for the gift of difference
Thank you that by
your love
your grace
your sacrifice
we are all wonderfully created unique and beautiful
– each of us a pixel in a beautiful picture
– each of us a note in a beautiful song
– each of us invited in a beautiful feast
– each of us awaited in a beautiful heavenly home
And as we partake of this meal
let us be reminded
that
every good gift
every perfect gift
is from above
coming down from the father of lights
with whom there is no variation
or shadow of change
in a world of many good things that make us all wonderfully different yet blessedly the same…
thank you
shukran
todah
salamat
dhanyavad
sukria
xie xie
dao zheh
gracias
danke
terimah kasih
natota
manymuk
thank you
thank you
thank you
amen
By Norman Aquino
Communion
Today is world communion Sunday. On this first Sunday of October, we celebrate with churches all around the world our family of faith in all it’s rich diversity. We celebrate our oneness – our communion – in Christ, in the midst of a world still in need of the reconciling unity of Christ.
Presentation of the Breads:
These breads are symbols of the many different peoples within the family of God.
Presenter 1 places banana bread on table
I offer this banana bread in honor of the men and women of Liberia We remember particularly the nations of Africa struggling with Ebola this day. We pray for the work of your spirit to bring an end to this virus and comfort to it’s sufferers and their communities. Protect and strengthen those who work to contain it. We thankyou for your church in Africa. Where your church grows rapidly, battling with the tide of consumerism from the West. Where faith is exuberant. Where a bright mosaic of culture shows the world the vibrancy of your love.
Presenter 2 places pita bread on table
I offer this Pita bread in honor of the people of the Middle East. We remember those who are at war, who are displaced, who suffer persecution. We pray for the work of your spirit to bring peace to bring healing. We pray that you would strengthen those who work to provide protection for the refugees and asylum seekers of these nations. We thankyou for your church in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity.
Presenter 3 places damper on the table
I offer this damper in honor of the people of Australia. We pray for the work of your spirit to bring reconciliation, compassion, respect and peace to this land and all it’s peoples. A nation of ancient wisdom and new hope that are yet to find true voice. We pray that you would strengthen the leaders who inspire unity, justice and care. We thankyou for your church in Australia, working to bring community into a nation so busy and divided.
Presenter 4 places naan bread on the table
I offer this Naan bread in honor of the people of the vast and diverse continent of Asia. We pray for the work of your spirit to strengthen the traditions that bring peace and bring light to systemic issues that increase despair and poverty. We pray that you would strengthen the responsible stewards of the lands, waters and people. We thankyou for your church in Asia, small and deepening.
Presenter 5 places a crusty loaf on the table
I offer this bread loaf in honor of other Western Continents of Europe and America. We pray for the work of your Spirit to bring peace, unity, compassion, renewed faith and justice where there is much bounty and much poverty, where faith is falling away. We pray that you would strengthen the leaders and visionaries of these nations. We thankyou for your church in it’s magnificent heritage finding fresh voice.
Communion Host
I invite you to come and take a piece of bread and some juice and return to your seat where we will eat and drink together.
We take the bread, a staple of the world and the symbol of Christ’s life on earth, given for everyone. We remember that just as yeast makes the bread rise, so God’s kingdom is growing in this world.
Let us eat, feasting with Christians throughout time and space to the abundant life Jesus offers us.
We take the cup, a symbol of God’s love poured out for this world. We remember that this is a cup that we are called to share.
Let us drink, sharing with the world around us, the love Jesus first offers us.
By Emma Morgan based on lots of other similar prayers.
Benediction
“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
―Mark 10.15-16
And the Table Will Be Wide
A Blessing for World Communion Sunday
And the table
will be wide.
And the welcome
will be wide.
And the arms
will open wide
to gather us in.
And our hearts
will open wide
to receive.
And we will come
as children who trust
there is enough.
And we will come
unhindered and free.
And our aching
will be met
with bread.
And our sorrow
will be met
with wine.
And we will open our hands
to the feast
without shame.
And we will turn
toward each other
without fear.
And we will give up
our appetite
for despair.
And we will taste
and know
of delight.
And we will become bread
for a hungering world.
And we will become drink
for those who thirst.
And the blessed
will become the blessing.
And everywhere
will be the feast.
By Jan Richardson
Table Teams Spice Quiz (Info from sbs feast mag)
- What continent is the ginger plant native to?
A: Asia. But had reached Europe in dried form by classical Greek ages.
- What spice was stuffed up the nostrils of Pharoah Ramesses II when he was buried in 1213 BC?
A: Pepper.
- Where did pepper originate from?
A:Tropical Southern India. Once they were worth more than their weight in gold. Pepper was called “black gold.”
- Christopher Columbus supposedly set sail for India in the hunt for pepper when he stumbles upon the Americas and what spice?
A: Chilli. Convinced he was in the east and keen to have something to show his Spanish backers he dubbed the spicey red fruits ‘peppers’ and the name stuck. Six years later the Portugese introduced chilli to India – Changing the course of their culinary history.
- What native Australian bush herb has an intensly sweet citrus fragrance and flavour?
A: Lemon myrtle
- What spice beginning with J is famous for flavouring English dry gin?
A: Juniper berries. They are used fresh and dry in European cooking.
- Baharat, the Arabic word for spices, is a complex mixture that is used to season stews, soup and meats. What are the 8 spices in Baharat?
A: black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cloves,nutmeg,cinnamon.
- After the black death of the 1300’s outbreaks of the plague continued in England, wiping out nearly a ¼ of London’s population in 1563. What spice beginning with ‘N’ did people believe was the remedy and sold for more than 600 times the price paid for it in the Spice islands.
A: Nutmeg
- What is the dominant flavour of fennel seeds?
A: Licorice
10. How many types of mustard seeds are there? What are their colours?
A: Three. Yellow, black, brown.
11. What is the most expensive spice in the world?
A: Saffron
12. What yellow spice native to SE Asia and India is high in antioxidants?
A: Turmeric
13. The second most expensive spice, produced from a climbing orchid which can take 9 months to mature and first cultivated by the Aztecs in the 15th century is?
A: Vanilla