Blessing of the Shared Table

Before we eat,
let us remember how this food came to us.

We give thanks to the soil that held the seed,
the rain that softened the ground,
the sun that called green life upward,
and the turning seasons that brought it to ripeness.

We give thanks for the lives—plant and animal—
that became nourishment for our own.

We honor the hands that planted, tended, gathered, carried, prepared, and cooked;
the hands we know
and the hands whose names we will never learn.

We remember those who preserved the seeds,
kept the old knowledge,
taught the recipes,
and passed the skills from one generation to the next.

May this food strengthen our bodies,
steady our minds,
warm our spirits,
and give us what we need to do good work in the world.

May we eat with gratitude,
waste as little as we can,
share when we have enough,
and remember those whose tables are empty.

To the earth beneath us,
the sky above us,
the lives around us,
and the hands gathered here:

We give thanks.

May what was given become strength.
May that strength be used with kindness. So mote it be.