Tapestry of Faith: Resistance and Transformation: An Adult Program on Unitarian Universalist Social Justice History

The Love Feast

Medieval Jewish story, A Chosen Faith (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998).

A rabbi spoke with God about heaven and hell. "I will show you hell," God said, and they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious, but around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot, but because the handles of the spoons were longer than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew back into their mouths. "Now I will show you heaven," God said, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew, and the people had identical spoons, but they were well nourished and happy. "It's simple," God said. "You see, they have learned to feed one another."

About the Authors

Forrest Church

Forrest Church is senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. He received his Ph.D. in church history from Harvard and has written or edited more than twenty books, including Life Lines, Lifecraft, The American Creed, and Freedom from Fear.

John A. Buehrens

John Buehrens is the co-author of A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism and A House for Hope: The Promise of Progressive and author of Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberal....

For more information contact .