Gathered around the kitchen table, a large extended family shares a simple meal with friends. With Christ at the head of the table, there is enough for all and room for more. Each item of food: fish, bread, wine and salt, is also a spiritual symbol with rich Biblical associations of communion with God and the Christian's relationship to the world. There is no mirror in the kitchen/dining room. Instead, the clear glass tabletop reflects each person's image back to him/her. Nothing blocks their view of the hungry and disadvantaged at their feet or the misery of urban poverty where rats run freely. Some have interrupted their eating to minister to the needy. Another greets outsiders by the door and invites them in to join the fellowship.
Window/Bookshelf. The countryside we see at a distance from the kitchen window reminds us of the urban/rural interrelation in ecology, food production and transportation. With indoor and backyard gardens city dwellers can grow a limited amount of their own food (the tomato plant, for example) but ultimately we depend on rural food sources. The cookbooks and reference guides on the bookshelf encourage all believers to consider thoughtful use of energy to conserve resources, and sensible consumption to safeguard health. The prayer for daily bread next to the globe shows a concern for hunger around the world, as well as in our our communities.