The Sacred Meal: The Ancient Practices Series

In The Sacred Meal, Nora Gallagher attempts to make Communion accessible to everyone. By using real stories from her life she shows how this practice is available to all; those who've never taken it before, those who have but may feel it's lost it's signifigance for them, and to those who've always taken it, maybe for granted. For me, this book came at a perfect time. That's just a God thing, I hope you understand. I was reading it just after the terrible earthquake hit Haiti, and we were all trying to decide how to respond. Many times the author talks about "the healing powers of extravagance, of extravagant generosity, of extravagant love." There is nothing more extravagant than God's love for us, and that's what I think we all wanted to give to the people of Haiti as we were working to form a response. Above all, Nora Gallagher presents a picture of the Lord's Table as a place where everyone is welcome. Everyone. Yes, everyone. Yes, even you. No matter where you have been or what you have done. No matter what you have lived through. His grace is extravagant and covers over everything. She shows how taking the Lord's Supper is just one small step into a great big Kingdom. By entering into the mystery of Communion and recognizing the intersection between our everyday lives and the Kingdom that exists in that ritual, we can begin to see and recognize that connection so much more in our everyday lives. The Sacred Meal is a very quick read and I certainly have been encouraged by this book to read more in The Ancient Practices Series as well as reading more by this author. This book was provided for free to my by Thomas Nelson publishers.

As a parish minister, I am often asked for resources to help congregants become more at home with the ancient--too often thought to be archaic--practices of the church. Of these practices, there are none more problematic for my United Church of Christ congregation than Holy Communion. In Gallagher's book, I have found a gift I can give to confused, doubting, wanting-to-believe seekers who fear to draw too close to this sacred meal, and yet do not want to push back from it either. One of Gallagher's gifts is her ability to write about the mysteries of faith in concrete images that invite us closer, connect to the real experiences of our lives, make us believe that even we are spiritual beings. She draws clear and compelling images of "ordinary" holiness. And every now and again, she takes my breath away with insights such as "I hope not to become one with God in such a way as to lose my own sense of self and boundaries, but instead to become in God more like myself." I highly recommend this book.

The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher is the latest book I have read for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. She shares her experiences and reflections from her work as a Lay Eucharist Minister in The Episcopal Church. Her understanding focuses on three aspects of the communion meal: waiting, receiving and the afterward. In waiting she prepares herself for what is to come by allowing herself to "let go" of the past week. Then, she receives as she opens her hands and hears the familiar phrase "The Body of Christ, The Bread of Heaven." The afterward is a time of realizing the magnitude and holiness of sharing a meal together at the table of the Lord. I really appreciated her approach to understanding the Eucharist. I found Gallagher's work as a minister at the table to provide a unique perspective for reflecting on the stages and sections of the meal. She helped me realize I need to slow down and experience the wonder of the Eucharist instead of seeing it as something to do and leave behind at the rail. Gallagher challenged me in my understanding intellectually and spiritually. I am looking forward to approaching the table tomorrow morning as I seek to embody waiting, receiving and the afterward. I would highly encourage others to read and reflect on The Sacred Meal.

I remember when chicken tasted like chicken. It has been so long that I can barely remember the taste, but I miss it. In the same way, I miss books about faith that are truly books about faith. Usually, books billed as being about faith are really books about belief overly seasoned with worn out words and phrases that conjure memories I have of litmus tests and classes of Christians. Through that wall of earned (for the most part) cynicism, I reluctantly dared to engage the pages of Nora Gallagher's The Sacred Meal. What Nora presents is a refreshing alternative to platitudes and words that have no edge. Instead, she breaks apart the objective religionism with fixed dogmatic beliefs that so many of us have grown to detest by granting us entry into the personal dialogue she experiences in the sacraments. (A sacrament is the outward and visible sign and an inward and spiritual grace). She mixes history with her story and how her story and history engage with the other faithful (but not so faithful) informs her own faith experience. As a person whose faith type is clearly ontological sacramental (experiencing the Holy through symbols and rituals), she gives a perfectly valid and balanced description of the sacrament of the Eucharist. She understands and articulates practice of communion in the context originally instituted, as the last of many meals Jesus had with his disciples. Then she calls us to practice this meal with the gathered Body of Christ that is the very members, seen and unseen, of the Church. What Nora has done in the book for the sacred meal of communion is to free it from the bondage of being an objective institution that it was never intended to be. Like religion in its original meaning, the practice of Eucharist is supposed to be a verb, "giving thanks". The Eucharist is a "doing" in which the Incarnation of God is reenacted and celebrated as history, as the very present, and as the hope for the promised age to come. I would recommend this book as one that promotes a healthy dialogue of the internal and external aspects of faith. Her approach is blended, symbolic, and subjective... like the sacrament she successfully portrays. The Rev. Dr. Bude VanDyke, Chaplain St Andrew's-Sewanee School

As ever, Nora Gallagher gives us a fresh take on church, one that invites us to the banquet table without demanding that we dress for dinner. In the manner of a true wisdom teacher, Gallagher SHOWS us communion rather than TELLING us about it, (just as Jesus showed that young lawyer the meaning of the command to love his neighbor). She writes with true authority, the authority of one who practices her Christian faith in the world with keen attention to both ancient roots and current needs. This is not just another author quoting scripture or explaning doctrine, but rather a trustworthy guide who has tasted the presence of God in the bread and wine and shows us a way to delve more deeply into the mystery incarnate in the sacrament. With Gallagher as our guide, we too, can taste and see.