Books & Speaking

Eat with Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food

by Rachel Marie Stone and Norman Wirzba

IVP Books, Feb 1, 2013

Summary: We struggle with obesity and eating disorders. Reports of agricultural horror stories give us worries about whether our food is healthy, nutritious or justly produced. It’s hard to know if our food is really good for us or for society. Our relationship with food is complicated to say the least. But God intended for us to delight in our food. Rachel Stone calls us to rediscover joyful eating by receiving food as God’s good gift of provision and care for us. She shows us how God intends for us to relate to him and each other through food, and how our meals can become expressions of generosity, community and love of neighbor. Eating together can bring healing to those with eating disorders, and we can make wise choices for sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, redemptive eating is a sacramental act of culture making through which we gratefully herald the feast of the kingdom of God.
Crave: A Christian Longing for Food and Community

by Shauna Niequist, Audrey Assad, Rachel Marie Stone and Kate Shellnutt

Christianity Today, Apr 3, 2014

Summary: There’s an adage that tells us a family that eats together stays together, and numbers back it up: families that sit down for dinnertime reportedly end up healthier, happier, and closer. As Sunday dinners and weekly small-group potlucks show us, food not only connects us to our families, but also to our communities. Food becomes both a practical and personal way to relate to each other as Christians. We hang out over food and find joy in the increasingly uncommon act of preparing food to serve others. The ritual of eating together actually has become a distinctive in a world where most meals are consumed quickly and alone.

Telling God’s Story, Year Three: The Unexpected Way: Instructor Text & Teaching Guide (Vol. 3)

by Rachel Marie Stone

Olive Branch Books, Aug 18, 2014

Summary: The third in a series designed to take young students from elementary through high school, Telling God’s Story, Year 3 provides scripted weekly lessons for third graders and the adults who teach them. Each weekly lesson provides content-filled background information for the teacher, a biblical passage from one of the four Gospels to read aloud, and a scripted explanation of the passage designed especially for children to grasp with ease. Together with the accompanying Activity Guide, Telling God’s Story, Year 3 provides a full year of religious instruction.

Speaking Engagements

“The Joy of Food: Eating as a Spiritual Practice” Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center, Byfield, MA: July 31-August 2, 2015.

“The Stories We Tell About Food.” Invited lecture at Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, PA, October 18, 2014.

“Tasting Grace.” Invited lecture at Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, PA, October 18, 2014.

“Hospitality as an Outsider” at Cultivate: Hospitality, Atlanta, GA, October 1-2, 2014.

“Slow Reading: A Story” at the Festival of Faith and Writing, April 2014.

“Palatable Words: Writing About Food with Sizzle and Grace” at the Festival of Faith and Writing, April 2014.

“Writing While Christian” at the Festival of Faith and Writing, April 2014.