OPENING PRAYER
Meet me, O Lord, in this transitional time of the day. May I loosen my own agenda for the evening and settle into your grace. – Rachel
THE REFRAIN
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 ESV
THE WORD OF GOD/A READING
A Liturgy for the Preparation of a Meal by Douglas McKelvey
LEADER: O Bread of Life,
PEOPLE: Meet us in the making of this meal.
As we perform various tasks of washing, chopping, sifting, mixing, simmering, baking, and boiling,
let those little acts coalesce into an embodied liturgy of service–
an outworking of love offered for your purposes, that through us, your tender care might be translated into the comforting and cheery language of nurturing food and drink offered for the benefit of others.
Let us invest in this preparation a lovingkindness toward those who will partake.
Let us craft this meal with a care as would befit any endeavor touching eternity.
Meet us in the making of this meal, O Lord, and make of it something more than a mere nourishment for the body.
Make it the center of a sheltered space where grace freely flows. Let the slow savoring of these foods give pause to those who will soon partake, prompting them to linger long at table, taking rest from the labors of the day, engaging in good conversation.
Let the comforting qualities of the dishes we prepare, become catalysts for a rich fellowship, a warm consolation, and a fruitful increase of holy affections.
May this meal serve to remind those who share its pleasures of the goodness and the hope that infuses all creation.
Unto that end, let us labor creatively, with imaginations engaged, knowing that we are cooks in the kitchen–yes–
but we are also agents of a deep eternity, whose prepared meals might feed more than the body, nourishing also the hearts and hopes of those sometimes-weary souls who are well-served by our labors.
Amen.
THE REFRAIN
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 ESV
PRAYER
Lord, may every being in our home have a keen sense of your love and comfort this evening. May we have the courage to receive your love and extend it to each other. – Rachel
CONCLUSION
The Early Evening Collect (BCP, p 120)
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.