A Table Setting Fair

From the Open Files of: The Lutheran Resource Center, 641-357-4451 Contributed by: Zion Lutheran Church,

"A Gift of Beauty" A Table Setting Fair Let us bow our heads. Someone once wrote that the custom of prayer before eating is as old as eating. Expressing Thanksgiving for the food we eat goes back for centuries to the first religious instincts of the human race, the practice of grace being handed down by oral tradition for generations. Then came the recorded history and we find in the Bible in Deuteronomy 8:7-10 where Moses reminds his people to bless the Lord for their food and for all He has given them. The early Hebrews felt a special blessing said over each basic food was very important. It was natural that the early Christians should continue the Hebrew custom of prayer before meals. Jesus took the bread and blessed it at the Last Supper, and made the ritual become a part of the communion service. Later, the Apostle Paul urged Christians to thank God for food and all blessings. This Thanksgiving let us take time to refocus our values, to get a better perspective on life, to pause before all meals and say thank you God. Zion Women are anxious to share with you not only a pretty table but also their favorite blessings. During November when our hearts are filled with the things God has done with us, for us, and to us, we gladly lift our hands in praise and thanksgiving to him. Table #1 Rita W: Celebrating our American Heritage CHINA: Bavarian White Dick and I enjoy having a special 4th of July meal in red, white and blue traditions. PRAYER: O the Lord is good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need like the sun and rain and the apple seed, O the Lord is good to me. Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen. (Sung of course) Table #2 Marjorie J CHINA: Hand painted by my mother, Frieda Dittes Umhau, in 1919 SILVER: Fairfax, also my mother's CLOTH: My grandmother's PRAYER: (The one my father used.) Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits. Give us this day our daily bread. Amen. Table #3 Marge T. CHINA: Noritake CRYSTAL: Heisey Orchid SILVER: Spring Glory PRAYER: Lord, bless the meat that we shall eat, the bread that we shall break. Make our actions kind and sweet, we ask for Jesus' sake. Amen. Table #4 Hattie F./Amanda S. CHINA: Fiesta LINENS and CENTERPIECE: Hatti F. The dishes were given to Amanda and Paul S. for their wedding in 1937. PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless this food to Your glory and our good. Amen. Table #5 Dorothy E./Bertha E. CHINA: Farmer's Rose by Porsgrund SILVER: Spring Rose Bertha's luncheon set was a gift her mother purchased in Norway in 1974. Dorothy's dinner settings are the result of an inheritance, so it was used to purchase china in memory of this aunt. PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let these gifts to us be blest. Amen. Table #6 Jean W. CHINA: Blue Willow by Allerton These dishes are favorites of my family and have been collected for a number of years. they are getting more and more difficult to find. The pattern is from China of long ago. I use them in my Bed and Breakfast along with a prayer from Norway. PRAYER: Jesu navn Gar Vitil Bords At Spise Og Drikke, Pa Jix Ord, Dig Gud Til Gere Os Ti L Gavn, S'A Far Vi Mat I Jesu Navn. Amen. Table #7 Virginia M. CHINA: Syracuse "Apple Blossom" CRYSTAL: King's Crown SILVER: Westmorland "George and Martha" The china was our wedding gift 40 years ago. My mother used us to use wedding money to complete our set to 12. I'm glad we listened to her. We have used it as our Sunday dishes for all these years. We started even when it was only Dean and i and our first child. The children and grandchildren enjoy it still instead of being moved to the kitchen and using the everyday china. We have not broken a dish yet! The silver I bought when I was young and working on my hope chest. the crystal was my folks and we always used it for Sunday and special times. I now use it with my china instead of my clear crystal. PRAYER: Our table grace is said by Dean and usually comes from the heart and is pertaining to the occasion. Now that we have small grandchildren we end it with all saying: "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food." Amen. Table #8 La Vonne P. CHINA: Eggshell by Nautilus These dishes were my grandparents and handed down to my parents. After my mother died, my father gave me the dishes along with an antique china hutch to put them in. I remember having Thanksgiving dinner on the china at my grandparents' home. I always think about the turkey we ate more than the china because it was such a treat to eat turkey. I was only five years old. PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus, Be our Guest. bless these gifts to us be blessed. Amen. Table #9 Vicky L. - Thinking of the Homeless "A Simple Meal" PRAYER: o Lord, the meal is steaming before us and it smells good, the water is clear and fresh, we are happy and satisfied. but now we must think of our sisters and brothers all over the world who have nothing to eat and only little to drink. O Lord, please give them your food and your drink, that is most important, but give them also what they need every day to go through this life. As you gave food and drink to the people of Israel in the desert, please give it also to our hungry and thirsty brothers now and in all time. Amen.

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