Beautifully bright magenta roses, lilies and other flowers adorned the table covered with a white linen cloth. Guests dined in between two gardens.
The five-course meal featured, first, a beet salad with goat cheese and greens followed by roasted salmon topped with a béarnaise sauce and braised garden greens.
Roasted lamb with tomato provencal was rounded out by a corn cake with blueberry compote and Chantilly cream for dessert.
It all took place within the walls and chain link fences of Grafton Correctional Institution in northeast Ohio. Inmates grew, prepared and served the food to about 60 guests in attendance.
The event was part of a 6-month class that teaches incarcerated men how to cook, but more.
Greg attends the class every week, and says it is helping him come out of his shell. He’s challenging himself to grow, and believes that he is seen not just as a number but a real person.
He is required to learn the gardening and cooking styles of others, their behaviors in the kitchen, and to build relationships all around preparing and sharing a meal.
One inmate raves about the chicken noodle soup, but even more so that a group of men worked together as a community.
That’s a win for a program that focuses on rehabilitation. The state of Ohio wants these men to become better law-abiding citizens.
It’s amazing how a bowl of chicken soup can help.
This makes me think about how often Jesus served and saved souls around a meal. More than that, how in the Old Testament and in the early Christian church, God used food and meals to teach spiritual truths.
Manna in the desert
Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha
The last supper and institution of Holy Communion
A wedding feast in Jesus’ parable
The Passover
Jesus reveals his identity to the Emmaus disciples
The miraculous catch of fish, served as breakfast
A wedding feast for Jesus’ first miracle
All the Old Testament dietary laws
Jesus dining with prostitutes and tax collectors
Give us this day our daily bread
Jesus the Living Water and Bread of Life
It’s amazing how these connect us to Jesus and each other!
PRAYER: Jesus, you are just and holy, yet full of mercy and forgiveness. May both of these traits draw sinners—including prisoners—to you and salvation. Bless all those behind bars, to learn, grow, repent, receive justice and return to society filled with more of you. Amen.
EVANGELISM ACTION: Use this to invite some friends to dinner. And Jesus.