From:  (Nigel B. Mitchell)
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian,nz.soc.religion
Subject: Re: People of Value & Forgiveness
Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 13:45:55 GMT

In <928016419.80>, "Tigger"
<> wrote:

>IMHO, the best possible compromise is for the believers to say a very short
>prayer of thanks and for the non-believers to sit quietly through it.
>Through sitting quietly, and the shortness of the prayer, both sides show
>respect for the other's point of view.

>While I am not a believer, I would not like to think that a table of
>believers put themselves out of habit by abstaining from their prayer for my
>sake. Hell, if they want the delusion, let them have it, but out of respect
>for me, let it be short! :)

Thanks for that consideration, Tigger. 

There are many different traditions about saying Grace before and/or
after meals. There is no Biblical injunction or uniform church
teaching. In fact, this is probably an area which has more to do with
family tradition than religious dogma.

In my home, we always say a brief prayer of thanks before the main
meal of the day, whether or not we have guests and regardless of who
those guests are. I claim the right to continue that custom at my own
dining table. 

When I dine with people at their homes whose custom does not include
such a prayer, I do offer a short prayer of thanks before eating, but
usually people around me would be unaware of this. Sometimes people
invite me to say a prayer before a meal, even if it is not their
custom, because they know I am a Christian and a Priest, and I am
always happy to do so (although I like some warning at large
gatherings). 

When I dine out at a restaurant, my practise varies. Sometimes I will
say a prayer aloud, especially if I am dining with other people who I
know to be Christians, but more often I will say a silent prayer of
thanks.

In any of the above situations, it would be unusal for the prayer of
thanks to be more than a couple of sentences, so there would be no
danger of boredom or the soup getting cold. 

BTW - one of God's greatest blessings to humanity, IMHO and according
to the Bible, is wine. 
Late last week  our enlightened political leaders  reached a
compromise so that we can have a GST and become more like New Zealand,
but they are going to exempt food from the new tax. Imagine my horror
when I read in the newspaper yesterday morning that those fools do not
consider beer, wine or spiritous liquors to be food! 
Everyone knows that alcoholic beverages are a food - some would say a
food group - and therefore should be exempted from GST but included in
our prayers.

cheers

N+

Nigel B. Mitchell