In this month where we will explore what it means to be a people of attention – when’s the last time you noticed who you were eating dinner with?  – when’s the last time you noticed what you were eating?  I mean really noticed. 

Starting your dinner with a short meditation or prayer is something that some people and families do  to turn our attention to gratitude for what we have. Here are three examples: 

Sent from the families of Boulder Valley UU Fellowship in Lafayette, CO:

“Here’s a grace that Natalie’s kids learned at the UU church in Memphis when they were little (early ‘70’s) and said at home:

May we have eyes that see,

Hearts that love,

And hands that are ready to serve.

Another family shared this grace from school:

The silver rain, the shining sun, 

the fields where scarlet poppies run 

and all the ripples of the wheat 

are in the breads that we do eat. 

So when we sit for every meal and 

say our grace we always feel 

that we are eating rain and sun 

and fields where scarlet poppies run. 

In our own church in class our young children say this prayer before lighting the chalice you could very well change the word church to home for table use:

This is the church of the open mind 

This is the church of the helping hands

This is the church of the loving heart 

I’d like to invite you this month, if you have a prayer or meditation you use to email it to director.religious.education@uuberks.org(link sends e-mail) 

With Gratitude for each and everyone of you,

Your Director of Religious Education – Ebee Bromley