Prayer for a Food Shelf Distribution
The custom in our local food shelf is to begin our monthly distributions with announcements and a prayer led by a representative of one of our supporting churches. Not all food shelf distributions begin with a prayer, few of us lead a prayer in this setting often (if ever) and so praying in this setting may be unfamiliar for both clergy and laypeople. How does one lead a time of prayer that is meaningful and appropriate for a diverse group such as this?
Below is a prayer that I have used and which I offer to you for your reflection and inspiration.
Feeding God…we thank you for the abundance before us…
…and for the presence of these good people here today.
We thank you for canned beans, pasta and tuna fish.
We thank you for peanut butter, soup, bread and vegetables.
We thank you for jams and jellies, and sticky sweet things.
We thank you for food that satisfies and fills us full.
God, we thank you for generosity and courage and humble spirits.
And we thank you too…for not having everything we need…
…so that we are drawn together, to relationships with one another…
…and with you…our source…our garden…our supermarket…
…our loving…feeding God.
And so God we pray…
…give us joy for the fellowship we find in this place…
…give us joy for the Christ we meet in one another…
…and give us joy even as we receive our daily bread. Amen.
© Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen, 2016
