Eating and the Christian Life:
A 10 Week Spiritual Formation Lesson Plan
This was crafted specifically for Calvary Baptist Church in Hopewell, NJ but can be adapted to other contexts
Week 1 – the importance of healthy soil
· Scripture reading: Mark 4:1-20 (Parable of the Soils)
· Teaching Themes & Take Aways: In this unit, learners will explore the questions of “What is good soil?,” “What is bad soil?,” and “Why is good soil important?" Every lesson will begin with prayer, scripture reading, and a moment of silence. There will then be a brief introduction to the curriculum; we will discuss why this topic is important, why it matters to us as Christians, and why it matters to the specific community of Calvary Baptist Church in Hopewell, NJ. The main activity for week 1 is planting a variety of seeds into seedling starter trays. While the learners are planting the seeds, we will also watch a video about soil microbes and healthy soil.[1] From this lesson, learners will be able to name some of the elements required for healthy soil and describe why healthy soil is critical for overall environmental health and creaturely wellbeing.
Week 2 – gardening and mending as spiritual practices of hope
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – German Confessing Church
· Before class content: explore mendingchurch.com
· Scripture readings: Micah 4: 1-5 & Romans 4: 18-21
· Speaker: Rev. Laura Everett—UCC pastor, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, and founder of the Mending Church
· Teaching Themes & Take Aways: In this unit, learners will hear from Rev. Everett via Zoom. Other than her pastoral obligations, Everett is passionate about urban gardening in her Boston backyard —especially growing indigo—creating her own natural dye, dying fabric, and mending her clothes and other items. Everett sees these works as spiritual practices. After hearing from Rev. Everett concerning her work and ministries, learners will be able to ask her questions regarding her projects and faith. Then, as a group, learners will discuss what it means for gardening and mending to be understood as spiritual practices. Moreover, what it means for them to be defiant acts of hope in a world full of suffering. By participating in this lesson, learners will assess different types of spiritual practices—specifically gardening and mending. Moreover, learners will be able to assess gardening as a practice of demonstrating hope for the future.
Week 3 – fruit as commodity/ fruit as gift
· Before class content: “The Serviceberry: An economy of Abundance” [2]
· Scripture reading: Galatians 5:22-23
· Teaching Themes & Take Aways: In week 3, learners explore both spiritual and botanical fruit and the indigenous concept of gift economies.This lesson begins with the learners briefly playing the card game “pit.” The main goal is to collect all the cards of one commodity to acquire a monopoly over the product. After playing a few rounds of the game, the learners will compare and contrast the perspective of food from Kimmer and from the game pitch. Discussion will revolve around the following questions: “What does it mean to bear fruit?” “How does treating food as a commodity impact us mentally, physically, and spiritually?” “What would it be like to treat the fruits of the spirit like Kimmer treats service berries?” “What would change if we thought about the fruits of the spirit as gifts?” “What would change if we considered actual produce as gifts?” From this lesson, learners will be able to describe the qualities of a gift economy and analyze how it could be a more life-giving than our current capitalist, zero-sum economy that commodifies food.
Week 4 – death & compost
· Before class content: listen to/ read transcript of episode 3 of the Evolving Faith podcast—The Theology of the Compost with Jeff Chu.[3]
· Field Trip: Princeton Farminary
· Guest Speakers: Nate Stucky, Director of the Farminary, & Larry Rogers, Farm Manager
· Scripture reading: Isaiah 43: 15-21
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: In this unit, learners will meet at the Princeton Seminary Farm—the Farminary. Larry will give the gathered learners a tour of the Farminary—including the garden, compost piles, and chickens—and recount the farm’s varied history. Larry will explain different methods of compost and the specific method used at the Farminary. Nate Stucky and Larry will then explain the theological significance of the farm and of the compost specifically. Together, the group will discuss the place of death on the farm and its theological and spiritual significance. From this lesson, learners will be able to name the basic key elements of compost. Learners will also be able to interpret the theological and spiritual significance of death and God’s work of regeneration.
Week 5 – communion I: sacrament & embodiment
· Before class content: “Kenotic hospitality and the Eucharist” article [4]
· Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 17-26
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: Week 5 focuses on the embodied aspect of communion and God’s love and care for our creaturely nature. Group discussion will be centered around the article and the biblical passage. Learners can share their experience of taking communion—of how they used to experience it and how they experience it now. Other questions for discussion include the following: “Why is it important to include our body in our faith practices?”; “Why would Jesus want his followers to remember him through eating?”; and “Does understanding the importance of our bodies in communion change the way we view all our other eating?” From participating in this lesson, learners will be able to articulate the theological and spiritual significance of our human creatureliness. Learners will also be able to interpret the crucial sensory elements of the sacrament of communion. Hopefully, participants will carry this knowledge with them and appreciate communion in a more wholistic manner in the future.
Week 6 – communion II: eating together
· Before class task: make and bring a dish for community potluck lunch
· Scripture reading: Acts 2: 42-47
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: Since this unit is focused on communal eating, the main activity will be eating together. The usual morning conversation will be cancelled. Instead, there will be a potluck lunch for everyone after the main Sunday service. Before the meal, the scripture passage will be read and then followed by a prayer. Instead of having a traditional lesson, the lesson itself will be experimental. Eating together is one of the best ways to understand the importance of communal meals. After the meal, folks can reflect on this experience together. The following are some possible discussion questions: “What has your experience been with communal meals at church?”; “What is it like to eat food that others here have made compared to the food you have made?”; and “Has this curriculum changed the way you purchase food, cook, or eat?” After this lesson, learners will be able to articulate and evaluate the theological and spiritual relevance of communal eating.
Week 7 – economy, labor, & imagination I: economic systems
· Before class content: “The Honorable Harvest” in Braiding Sweetgrass[5]
· Scripture reading: Matthew 20: 1-16
· In class content: “Why do we need to change our food system?” video – UN Environment Programme[6]
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: I recognize that the content of this curriculum can be overwhelming and might provoke feelings of hopelessness in regard to the scale and interconnectedness of these systemic issues. Therefore, I want to convey the fact that these systems were created and can then be undone. Moreover, I want to foster the hope and belief that a new world is possible if we simply have the imagination and bravery to create it. After watching the video from the UN about the issues of our current food systems, the main activity of this unit will be to collectively imagine what a more life-giving food system. During the activity, learners will assess and discuss how this week’s outside reading, scripture passage, and their faith commitments inform the way they want to imagine a new kind of food system. Learners will also be encouraged to not only discuss the prompt but to also draw it, write a poem about it, or create some other creative work they prefer using.
Week 8 – economy, labor, & imagination II: farmers & farmworkers
· Before class content: “Our Farmworkers Deserve Better” – Yes! Magazine[7]
· Scripture Reading: James 5: 1-6
· Class content: “The Surprising Rate Of Farmer Suicide” Huffpost video[8]
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: Similarly to the week before, this unit focuses on issues within the food system—specifically the treatment of immigrant farmworkers and of the mental health of farmers—and therefore engages in the themes of hope and imagination for a better world. Learners will name the issues and possible solutions mentioned the article and the video. Like the previous week, learners will assess and discuss how this week’s outside reading, scripture passage, and their faith commitments inform the way they want to imagine a new kind of food system—one that treats farmworkers and farmers with dignity. Learners will also be encouraged to not only discuss the prompt but to also draw it, write a poem about it, or create some other creative work they prefer using.
Week 9 – food insecurity in our area
· Before class content: explore the Feeding America website—specifically the page regarding New Jersey[9]
· Scripture Reading: James 2: 14-26
· Guest Speaker: Joyce Campbell, executive director of Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: This lesson focuses on food insecurity in the Trenton, NJ area. Joyce Campbell will present the current issue of hunger and food insecurity in Trenton and surrounding communities. She will also explain the mission of TASK and their myriad of services and support. Other than providing meals, TASK also provides adult education, job search assistance, case management, and an art program. Campbell will explain that TASK has decided to expand its services to better address the root causes of food insecurity. After Campbell’s presentation, learners will have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss together. From participating in this lesson, learners will be able to summarize the issues of food insecurity in the New Jersey area and how the problem is currently being addressed.
Week 10 –going out
· Before class content: Luke 14: 15-24
· In class content: enfleshed poem[10]
· Teaching Themes and Take Aways: The scripture reading will be the “before class content” because, in its place, we will read the poem “take flesh” together. This poem speaks to the embodied nature of faith; it describes planting seeds and cooking meals, amongst other activities, as moments where we can feel especially connected to God’s love and share it with others. In a creative and thoughtful way, this poem summarizes the many interconnected themes of the curriculum, and therefore, works well for this last unit. The main activity of this week will be to finally move the seedlings that were planted on the first week into the church’s raised bed. Given that planting the seedlings will take considerable time and energy, this is the only explicit activity planned for the day. That being said, learners can use this time to chat and reflect with one another.
[1] How Microbes Are the Answer to Healthy Soil, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyKPTIXmKg.
[2] Robin Wall Kimmer, “The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance,” Emergence Magazine, October 26, 2022, https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/.
[3] Sarah Bessy, “The Theology of the Compost with Jeff Chu,” Evolving Faith, https://evolvingfaith.com/podcast/season-1/episode-3.
[4] Shauna Kubossek, “Kenotic Hospitality and the Eucharist: An Alternative Economy,” Anglican Theological Review 104, no. 1 (February 2022): 70–82, https://doi.org/10.1177/00033286211028824.
[5] Robin Wall Kimmer, “The Honorable Harvest,” in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2013).
[6] Why Do We Need to Change Our Food System?, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL3BQeteCc.
[7] Tina Vasquez, “Our Farmworkers Deserve Better,” YES! Magazine, https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/thirst/2023/05/18/farmworkers-deserve-better.
[8] The Surprising Rate Of Farmer Suicide, Listen to America, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W-361bRF5k.
[9] “New Jersey | Feeding America,” accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/new-jersey.
[10] m jade kaiser, “take flesh,” miscellaneous offerings, enfleshed. https://enfleshed.com/liturgy/miscellaneous-offerings/