What is the relationship between faith and food?
Food is important for our physical wellbeing, and we all share in the joy of eating a particularly good meal, but what about spiritual food; is there a relationship between the physical and the spiritual?
For some faiths the link between faith and food is an important aspect of their history and culture. In the Catholic Church the Eucharist, ‘The Lord’s Supper,’ can be considered the heart of the Church. Therefore, it seemed fitting as part of the celebrations for the Year of the Eucharist that the Diocesan Interreligious Team organised an event to explore this area of faith. Four guest speakers representing different faith communities were invited to speak on the link between physical and spiritual nourishment within their respective faiths. It was fascinating to hear about different ways that food is important to spiritual life, and also to identify some similarities between the role of food within different faiths.
Following the presentations, after sharing a ‘plant-based’ meal together, prepared by chefs from the Earthlings Café, a café style discussion took place. It was a truly enlightening evening which highlighted the respect shown for different faiths and the strong link food plays in our physical and spiritual nourishment.
Thanks go to Deanna van der Velde from the United Hebrew congregation, Hassan Ameen from the Muslim community, Jaswinder Singh representing the Sikhs, and Fr Chris Hughes speaking on behalf of our Diocese. We encourage you to take a little time to listen to what the speakers had to share at this event on the podcasts below.