This episode will air February 12, 2023.
Read MoreHow do you feel about King Cake? That bright cake, smothered in sprinkles with a plastic baby stuffed inside. Maybe you’re more a fan of the Galette de Rois—the puff pastry and frangipane version that hails from France. Shrove Tuesday traditions abound all around the world. In this episode of Kitchen Meditations, we’re going to learn how some of the most popular traditions came to be!
Read MoreI love Lent. Perhaps you’re someone who grinds your teeth and muscles through the weeks of fasting. Maybe you stay silent because you just don’t feel like fasting is all that important, but everyone around you is…super invested. Or perhaps you believe Lent is an unnecessary season, an attempt to earn favor with God when we already have God’s grace. Although “Lent” is not a season outlined in Scripture, it’s been a way for Christians to mark time since at least the early 4th century. To kick off season two of Kitchen Meditations, we’ll share with you why Lent might be just the season you need this year.
Read MoreHave you ever attended a dinner where you were left awkwardly picking at just a slice of bread, slathered in butter, while everyone else around you enjoyed a large feast...unable to partake because of food allergies that weren't accounted for in the meal? In this episode of Kitchen Meditations, we're talking about food allergies—why they seem so prevalent these days and the opportunity they give us for a new approach to hospitality.
Read MoreHave you ever read the Bible as…a dietary manual? For some of you that might sound strange, for others…well, you might know exactly what I’m talking about. Christian dieting books abound that promise spiritual freedom, if only you eat according to strict guidelines laid out in various parts of scripture. In our fourth episode on Diet Culture, we’re going to look at the underlying assumptions behind most Biblical diet books…then consider a different theological approach.
Read MoreWhat is it about our diet that connects us with others? Why do we find it easier to eat in a certain manner when we do it with friends? And why does our diet become such a significant part of our identity? Most importantly: is this helpful or harmful for us?
These are the questions we explore in this episode on diets, identity, and belonging—and how we can create a more holistic relationship to community and food.
You are what you eat. I imagine you’ve heard this phrase before. Maybe it’s helped you embrace the foods that connect you to family or to home. Or maybe it’s shamed you for enjoying something unhealthy. In our third episode on Diet Culture, we’ll dive into the way food shapes our identities, for better or for worse, and how we can use food to remind us of who we are.
Read MoreWhat comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “clean eating”? Is it raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and nuts and seeds, milk in a glass bottle and home fermented yogurt? What about…a squishy loaf of Wonderbread? In our second episode on Diet Culture, we’ll explore the history of clean eating, how this framework has shifted, and how we can find more helpful ways of relating to the foods we eat.
Read MoreHappy New Year! Are you bombarded by messages about how to make this year the best one yet? Are you struggling with the siren call of new dietary plans? Instead, let’s consider the rhythms of fasting and feasting built into the church calendar. They just might help us enter the new year in celebration rather than shame.
Read MoreOn this fourth Sunday of Advent, we’re going to look to the hospitality given and received by the Holy Family just after Christ’s birth. And we’re going to examine what this story encourages us to do. I hope that this story sparks in you a desire to build communities marked by generosity—I expect you’ll find fulfillment greater than you could have imagined too.
Read MoreThis Advent, we partnered with WeWelcome. Together, we are learning how the hospitality found in the story of Christ’s birth invites us to live out welcome today. Today begins the third week of Advent—Gaudete Sunday. This is the week of Advent devoted to joy. On this third Sunday of Advent, we’re going to look to some of the most absurd moments in the story of Christ’s birth, stories that we think just might be God encouraging us to laugh a little bit.
Read MoreThis Advent, we partnered with WeWelcome. Together, we are learning how the hospitality found in the story of Christ’s birth invites us to live out welcome today. On this second Sunday of Advent, we’re going to look to the hospitality Mary showed God in carrying the infant Jesus in her body. Through this story, we’ll look for the gifts we can find when we open ourselves up to others, even at the most inconvenient times.
Read MoreThis Advent, we partnered with WeWelcome. Together, we are learning how the hospitality found in the story of Christ’s birth invites us to live out welcome today. On this first Sunday of Advent, we’re going to look to the story of Elizabeth and Zachariah. We’ll examine what their lives can teach us about embracing the gift of hospitality even in seasons of unmet longing and endless waiting. Listen in.
Read MoreThanksgiving is a complex holiday. Both its history and the role it plays in many families today. This week on Kitchen Meditations, we’re talking about Thanksgiving. We believe it’s a day we can choose to confess our brokenness and work towards healing, together at the table. If you’re looking for a new way to approach the holidays this year, listen in.
Read MoreThis Fall, we’ve been reflecting on our food stories and how they impact our sense of home. We believe these conversations are critical as our country faces both a loneliness epidemic and increasing social discord. This week, Kendall Vanderslice shares some of her own food story, how it led her to create the Edible Theology Project, and why gathering at the table in this season is more important than ever. Listen in.
Read MoreJoin us as we speak with chef Reem Assil about food and the diaspora. We reflect on questions like: What is home for people of the diaspora? How can food traditions shape our families and ourselves? What can we learn from Arab hospitality practices?
Read MoreJoin us as we look at the religious history of Halloween, including the origins of Trick-or-Treating, food traditions like soul cakes, and Martin Luther’s decision to nail the 95 theses on Halloween. Whether you dress up for Halloween every year, or turn off all your lights and hide in the basement during Trick-or-Treating, this episode will inspire you to rethink the holiday and, just maybe, see it as a day for community and remembrance. Listen in.
Read MoreJoin us as we speak with chef Reem Assil about food and the diaspora. We reflect on questions like: What is home for people of the diaspora? How can food traditions shape our families and ourselves? What can we learn from Arab hospitality practices?
Read MoreHave you ever used the term “authentic” to describe a local restaurant or the food they serve? Today, we’re going to talk about the concept of authenticity, especially as relates to food. We hope this short reflection will help you reflect on the ways food has shaped you. Listen in.
Read MoreOur relationship to place, to the many places we might call home, is a complicated one. Join us as Kendall Vanderslice and guest Patrice Gopo, author of All the Places We Call home, meditate on how to lean into the yearning for home.
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