LCM News

A Food Philosophy?

There is so much about food that is central to our life as humans, as Christians, and as our much smaller sub-set of the student community that meets every Sunday night at Grace University Lutheran Church for a dinner and discussion series called Bread and Belonging.

This Sunday, we’ll be cooking together using sustainable food, purchased from a local co-op.  Not only is it important, but also fun and life-giving to cook food that’s good for you, and good for the earth.

Interested?  Show up at Grace at 3:30 for Cooking Club!

In the mean time, I want to share with you some food philosophies that Lutheran Campus Ministry collected at the U of M’s Food Day in October.  We encouraged people of all faiths to think about where their spirituality intersected with their choice of what to eat and with whom they eat.  These are a few of the responses we received:

I feel that there is a sense of abundance around food in the world if it is all shared and dealt with responsibly.  I believe in eating whole, good for you, nutritious meals that sustain not only your body but mind and spirit as well.  There is nothing more fulfilling than having a good meal with friends, family or strangers. Food that is made from the earth and doesn’t harm it is the best for people and of course mother earth herself.  Sharing food makes it possible for community to form and lives to be transformed.

Food is life. Life is spirit.  When we create, consume and nurture homegrown, healthy foods we connect these – in a way that a wrapped-process-food substance can never do.

Food is here to keep us going.  We should only eat to sustain ourselves and the rest we should share, and help others who don’t have enough.

I believe that it is our responsibility to do right by each other and the Earth.  In doing so, we are making an effort to show our devotion and respect to God.  As such, we should grow and gather our food in respectable ways and offer meals to those who would not otherwise eat.

I think that food is always greater when shared with others.  My family always gathers in large groups and we all cook together.  We cook food that we grew or food from local farms when possible.  So much love can be shared through a meal – it’s a time to come together, enjoy one another’s company, all while filling our bodies with the beautiful gift of food that the Lord has given us.

I believe that food should not only satisfy our hungering bodies, but should also have a spiritual impact.  Our food should always keep us mindful of the blessings we receive from God.

I try to think about where my food is coming from – is it shipped or locally grown? Is it organic? I try to focus on cooking my own food rather than eating out and to make informed decisions while grocery shopping – as much as a college student on a budget can.  Doing so is a good way to care for creation.

I prefer eating with community whether that be with people I love and know or people I am sharing my time and energy with.  I also believe in eating healthy, natural, local food that not only nourishes our body and soul, but also our community.

I think that food is an essential part of everyone’s life.  We all need nutrients in order to live.  Jesus meant for food to be shared, a symbol of him, and understood as God’s creation.  It’s important to have community over food.  If we share in that, we will all knwo God a little better.

I believe that everything on the Earth was provided for us to use and preserve.  We were given the plants and the animals to flourish by, but in order to make the most of this gift, we must treat it with respect and not take it for granted.  We have been entrusted with the responsibility of sharing this gift with all of humanity, and also to not squander it.  We must conserve our resources and make sure that none of it goes to waste.  In this way we can thank God for the gifts He has given us.

Slow Down

Thanksgiving Break – was exactly what I needed last week! I feel that I am now ready to take on these crazy last few weeks of class! It was absolutely amazing to be able to spend 4 days at home with my family. I worked hard to get most of my school work completed ahead of time so that I could truly take a step back from school for the weekend. From seeing familiar faces and scenery of my hometown, to quiet relaxing hours outside with my family and dogs, I was again reminded of some of the simple things in life that bring me great joy.

With finals approaching and flu season in full swing (believe me I am making sure I get my Vitamin C!), I am consciously now more than ever, making sure I slow down and find joy in each day. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the piles of school work and other obligations, that I need to make sure that I do not take other things that are important to me for granted.

Especially with Advent lining up with the last weeks of class, these past years of college I don’t feel that I have really given the Advent Season the thought and presence in my life that it deserves. I was able to squeeze in some preparations for Christmas (decorating, getting loved ones presents) but I didn’t feel these past two years that I adequately prepared myself for Christmas.

That is my prayer for these coming weeks (for myself and for everyone) – to truly be able to prepare for Christmas. No matter how stressed or busy life may get, to make sure to take some time to slow down and to not loose sight of what is important.

-Valerie

Thankful for family, friends, school, snow, ….

As a college student it is often times difficult to be thankful for the position we’re in. The pressure of class work, exams, and planning for the unknown future is overwhelming. It is easy to be caught in this cycle of academic drudgery. However, when you think about it, we are young people that are significantly blessed. We all have the opportunity to earn a higher education. We have the opportunity to expand our horizons in ways that are unimaginable for some. We have the opportunity to be involved in clubs that spark our interests and spend our time getting to know people that are different from ourselves. College is a time of immense opportunity and is teeming with things to be thankful for.

As Thanksgiving approaches it is obvious that people become more aware of the many blessings in their lives. Being able to name these blessings is important. Personally, I am very thankful for the relationships I have through family and friends, coworkers, and classmates. And yes, I am very thankful for the recent weather change! I love snow. No matter what place I am in emotionally, when it snows, my mood is always lightened. Snow brings me back to my childhood when I would go and play in the snow after school for hours on end. Even now, I still try to catch snowflakes on my tongue. On Saturday night, a bunch of LCMers spent time together at Annie’s and then ventured out in the snow afterwards. Lindsey and I went skipping on the sidewalk as the snow fell. It was so freeing to have childlike fun again.

I invite you to “count the many blessings” in your life. There are so many things to be thankful for if you take a look. God has blessed each and every one of us with special gifts, talents, family, and friends to only name a few. Being able to recognize the beauty in His creation and thank Him is one of the best things!

Laura McDowell

Sooo… what’s your major?!

The college experience has treated me well so far… to say the least. I’ve met amazing friends, had opportunities to become involved with meaningful organizations and events, explored Minneapolis/St. Paul through many random adventures, and experienced school spirit and pride to a degree I only dreamed of in high school!!

As far as that whole ‘academic’ part of school goes, I got pretty dried out. As an undeclared student, I grew extremely frustrated having to take general classes that were only semi-interesting, for the most part irrelevant to my life, and filled my time with busywork. I spent the end of my freshman year and most of my summer talking to career counselors and doing research on random majors at the U of M. I felt like I was just going through the motions searching for my purpose in life. It was like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, as I’m sure is a very common feeling for many college students in the decision making process of what to do with your life.

After a conversation at Bread and Belonging regarding vocation and discernment, I left feeling very puzzled and curious about how I was just supposed to know when I was hearing God’s call. I’m usually an avid journal-er, but because of the constant business of life, I neglected this source of releasing my emotions and thoughts. However, I felt moved to journal after this night of Bread and Belonging. I opened my journal and realized it had been since June that I had last written an entry. Four pages later, I felt some sense of relief. I picked up my Bible—another thing I’ve neglected to do recently… which was conveniently under my journal. I found a few reassuring verses, one of which keeps coming up in my life: Proverbs 3:5-6… “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths.”

It became clear to me that I was taking responsibility for discerning my future alone… which, in hindsight, is completely ridiculous. I was so frustrated and discouraged with the idea of the future that I was losing motivation to work hard in my classes. What I forgot is that God has a plan for me and always has had a plan.

After a month of writing in my journal more regularly, praying like crazy, and patiently putting my complete trust in His plan, I answered a pretty strong call to apply to the Family Social Science program. Days later, I received an e-mail congratulating me on getting into the program! I can now answer the question that I’ve heard on a daily basis since senior year of high school: “So, what’s your major?!”  Weird how things just seem to come together when we let God in…

Feed your faith and your doubts will starve.

–Kalysta Schlitter :]

as things get crazy…

Life as a student has, for me, always been a busy one. Between intramural leagues, classes, friends, and the occasional trip home, I seem to constantly be running sprints (and here I thought I left my track days behind me when i graduated HS). This being my senior year, I have now shifted into overdrive. Where in tarnation can I find time for God?

This past weekend, I had the chance to go duck hunting with some old friends. We left Thursday evening and reached our destination late, with just enough time to unpack before heading off to sleep. Duck hunting is done best at the crack of dawn and dusk, so as 5:30 rolled around, so we rolled out of our beds and out the door. We hunted until we were hungry, went and ate, slept a little, hunted again, ate again, and then did the whole thing over the next day.

It was amongst this whirlwind of an adventure that I did find it- that place in tarnation (didn’t think I could use that word twice in one post, now did you!). As I was laying out in the prairie one morning, waiting for the sun and ducks to arrive, I suddenly found myself talking to Him. It wasn’t anything profound and it didn’t give me a sense of revelation. However, it was God time; time that I thought I didn’t have.

As we go about our busy days, be them teaching, working, laughing, or learning, we so often forget to see God’s presence in all of the crazy. In my case, I took a second to look and was blown away by all of the great people I have in my life. I was able to see God working through all of them, shaping who I have become and am growing to be.

It is through His grace that I have ended up here typing this post- sometimes I am just running too fast to thank Him. Hopefully I will remember to stop and catch my breath just a little more often.

peace
-Eric

Twang of Joy

Our amazing outreach band ‘Twang of Joy’ made some beautiful music on the Washington Ave Bridge while handing out some warm coffee to unsuspecting students on campus!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu6dShUag-o?rel=0&w=640&h=480]

as the leaves fall

As leaves change color and drift to the ground, I am reminded of the natural process of letting go. Every year, trees let go of their coverings for winter, trusting that new life will bud from their branches in the spring.

Like many students, I often find myself grasping for control of my life, clinging to bits of order, consequently spiraling further and further out of control. When you hold on too tightly to life, it falls through your fingers like sand, leaving you stressed and frantic as you scramble to pick it back up. A couple weeks ago, my life had reached this point – I needed to know what ‘the plan’ was, where my life was going; I needed to be in control. Instead, I lost all control and purpose.

In the past weeks as the trees have begun to let go, I too have focused on letting go of control, surrendering my life to God. My life has since ordered itself into a beautiful, exciting exploration. By letting go of control, I have found peace. I no longer need to know the answers; I rejoice in living the questions.

-Bryna

changing leaves, changing lives…

My favorite season is Fall. Beautiful leaves changing color, the air is crisp and fresh, and God is present throughout all of this! Every beautiful landscape and friendly face encountered mirrors God’s love for each and every one of us.

As school is sufficiently underway and midterms are here, it can be difficult to stop and observe all of the wonder and beauty that He created/is creating.

One significant friendly-face encounter that I have had so far this Fall was at Tuesday Soup. There was a volunteer, Luke, from Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) that attended. He talked about the programs internationally that we could partake in as being “God’s hands” in this world. I personally have been contemplating taking a year off from my studies between undergrad and, hopefully, professional schooling, and this program seems to fit perfectly! This experience was one that I was not expecting, but could turn out to be a pivotal event for me and others.

During this beautiful season, I encourage all of you to take the time to observe and experience God’s creative hand in your life. Whether it is sharing coffee with a friend, taking a bike ride, or studying, enjoy what you are doing and remember God’s love for you.

Laura