Table Blessings
To make spirituality enjoyable for all ages from 3 to 93, many of these table prayers use hand gestures. Permission is granted to use any of these. Like folk music, you may add your own variations. The first six are usable for interfaith gatherings; the last two are specifically Christian.
Prayer with Hands as Grace at Meals
Leader: Invite group to join with the motions, repeating the words after you:
This is my daily bread (hands out in front, cupped, palms up);
Take it (lift both hands slightly, palms still up);
Bless it (place one cupped hand over the other);
Break it (hands like breaking a loaf of bread);
Give it to everyone I meet this day (lower hands, open toward others).
Second time: Invite group to follow the motions and say the words you.
Third time: Invite the group just to do the motions, without words.
Open-Eyed Grace: Gracias!
This table “grace” can be used at home or at church, temple, or community gatherings.
Leader say: “Be aware of our unity with all people and creation… breathing in the same air with rich and poor… Notice the food… smells… colors… Imagine the seeds… the dark soil, the bright sun… farmers planting it… migrant farm laborers harvesting with their hands.
