The first child, a Buddhist, brought a Buddha doll. A Jewish child carried a Hanukkah menorah. A Roman Catholic child displayed a crucifix. Annie, a Mennonite child, brought a casserole. While it does not convey the power of the cross, it symbolizes a benefit of the cross.
Casseroles are all about being home.
They are not the food of lavish banquets or fancy restaurants. They are family food. In exploring what it means to be prepared as a church community for a crisis, a key preparation is to renew our covenant with each other. Today, we seem far away from the days of barn raisings and church communities rallying around in a crisis. A crisis will demonstrate whether we have sold out to our culture about the nature of relationships.