PHW Book Club Discussion: Eating Well Week 5 (Diversity)

Thank you for joining the Partners in Health and Wholeness Book Club. You can officially sign-up here. Through it, we hope to engage people of faith in discussions over why our health matters. We will be posting updates through the PHW Facebook page, but our PHW blog page will have the discussion posts in full with responses from staff. Just look for the apple on top of the book picture among the blog post pictures and you will find past Book Club entries.

This week will take a look at Eating Well Week 5: Diversity from the free “Eating Well” NC Council of Churches Food Curriculum.

Excerpted from the curriculum (Leader’s Notes, Focus Statement and Scripture):

This week’s session focuses on the importance of diversity. Diversity can mean different things to different people. For example, when some people hear the word diversity, they may immediately think of racial or ethnic diversity. That is an important topic, particularly in light of last week’s discussion about neighbors. However, the idea of diversity in food focuses on the necessity to consume a wide variety of foods, for our own health, and the health of the planet.

God sought to preserve the diversity of creation by instructing Noah to build the Ark. This story shows God’s great love for creation because all the animals were valued whether they were clean or unclean. Diversity is an important part of God’s good creation.

Scripture:

Genesis 6:5-9:17 – Noah’s Ark

In the Israelites’ dietary laws, some animals were considered clean and others unclean. The Israelites were not allowed to eat unclean animals. After Noah built the ark, God instructed him to save all the animals – both clean and unclean. This indicates the importance and necessity of diversity in the world.

Please read the Eating Well Week 5: Diversity of the “Eating Well” NC Council of Churches Curriculum.  

Discussion Prompts from the curriculum (feel free to create your own prompts or to respond to one or more of these):

1. Some food-related movements, such as the Slow Food movement (www.slowfood.com) attempt to respond to the loss of family and cultural food traditions that accompanies the rise of fast food and chain restaurants. Why is it important to retain family, cultural, food and religious traditions?  How can the story of Noah’s Ark guide our thinking?
2. What is your family’s “Noah’s Ark”?  How do you incorporate and preserve diversity in your family’s eating habits now?  How d you try to preserve those family, cultural, and religious traditions for future generations?

–Joy Williams, PHW Regional Consultant

Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches. PHW aims to connect health as a faith issue. Please visit our website  to sign your personal pledge to be healthier, and to find out about grant opportunities for churches in NC. Continue to stay connected with PHW by liking us on Facebook.