WELCOME HEART: Living a Legacy Life
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Kendall Vanderslice joins us today to talk bread, food, community, and loneliness—all some of my favorite topics. Founder of the non-profit, EdibleTheology.com, Kendall shares her wisdom regarding cultural polarization, and how eating together is a vulnerable and soul-filling activity. I love her call to include "rhythms of times at the table" in an effort to stave off our default into isolation. And, that when we do, we feel more known, respected and healed.
Author of We Will Feast, By Bread Alone, as well as the digital course, Bake With the Bible, Kendall also promotes a program we can use in our churches to build community and love, even in the middle of an election year! (Maybe especially in the middle of an election year!) And she is offering a copy of her recently released book/memoir: By Bread Alone: A Baker's Reflections on Hunger, Longing and the Goodness of God.
Some gems from our conversation:
Her favorite thing to bake (I asked!) is "Sourdough on Training Wheels." Sounds like my kind of sourdough.
In her own words
Hello! I’m Kendall Vanderslice – yes, before you ask, that is my true name.
It’s just by chance (or the humor of God) that I ended up in a field so fitting. I’m a baker and writer, whose best thinking occurs as I work dough between my hands; I scribble down thoughts on pieces of parchment dusted in flour, until I can parse them out later before my keyboard. When I embarked on a career as a pastry chef, I found that my love of bread transformed the ways I read scripture. Fascinated by God’s use of food throughout the arc of the Gospel, I merged my work in the kitchen with academic study of food and theology.
I founded the educational nonprofit Edible Theology as an outlet for further research and public engagement in this sphere. You can get a taste for our work by listening to our weekly podcast Kitchen Meditations.
I’m a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois (BA Anthropology), where I began engaging questions of food and faith. Interested in commensality—or, the social dynamics of eating together—I studied food at Boston University (MLA Gastronomy). My thesis on church meals sparked a range of theological questions, leading me to Duke University where I wrote a thesis on the theology of bread (MTS). In 2018 I was named a James Beard Foundation national scholar for my work on food and religion.
My first book, We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God, released May 2019. My second book, By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God, releases February 2023.
Ep 182 A Legacy of Following Jesus at Any Age or Stage with Susan Macias
Ep 181 A Legacy of Gettting Along with Difficult People (Who, Me?)
Ep 180 A Legacy of Truth and Comfort Through the Classics with Rachel Dodge
Ep 179 A Legacy of Finding Hidden Manna with Sarah Geringer
Ep 178 A Legacy of Finding Significance in the Little Things That Go A Long Way with Rachael Adams
Ep 177 A Legacy of Lemons, Love and Evangelism with Sue Donaldson
Ep 176 A Legacy of Gathering Around the Table with Betsy Pendergrass
Ep 175 A Legacy of Bringing Jesus Inside Prison Walls with Rea Berg, Founder of Beautiful Feet Books
Ep 174 A Legacy of Hosting a Dinner Party One Day at a Time
Ep 173 A Legacy of a Divine Detour and a Deeper Faith with Lori Ann Wood
Ep 172 A Legacy of Love and Wings—Parenting ”Bigs” with Esther Joy Goetz
Ep 171 A Legacy of Truth and Faith with Susan Chamberlain Shipe
Ep 170 A Legacy of Life Beyond the Rut with Jerry Dugan
Ep 169 A Legacy of Our Response to God’s Welcome: 5 Hindrances to Intimacy with our Heavenly Father
Ep 168 A Legacy of Using Your God-Given Gifts to the Full with Wren Robbins
Ep 167 A Legacy of God’s Welcoming Heart with Sue Donaldson
Ep 166 A Legacy of Fresh Faith with Jon Fugler
Ep 165 A Legacy of Choosing Victory with Amy Elaine Martinez
Ep 164 A Legacy of Needing Jesus at Every Age
Ep 163 A Legacy of Christ-Centered Christmas Traditions with Mitzi Neeley
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