Food = Love

Ach... pictures coming soon, I promise. That camera cord still hasn't surfaced... along with one of my slippers, some fabric my mom bought, and Bonhoeffer's Discipleship that I need to read to prepare for a book study at church. Oh, the myriad joys of moving!

Despite the few MIA items, I am loving my new ministry in southern Wisconsin. The town I've settled in is beautiful, the church manse (i.e. parsonage, i.e. pastor's house) is incredible (seriously - I feel like I'm living in an updated version of that big, beautiful house from Little Women), and the people of the church have shown me a warm welcome in every way. I am loving it here.

No doubt those of you who have grown up or lived in the Midwest know that, around here, food = love. We have fellowship over a potluck, a casserole, burgers and brats. We serve turkey dinners to the homeless and bring cookies to shut-ins. We show up with warm soup when we see an ambulance or a moving van. Peoples' homes smell like cinnamon rolls and fresh pie crusts and ridiculously aromatic chocolate chip cookies. Around here, as David Foster Wallace once noted in his essay on the Illinois State Fair, "women can bake." Food is a way of caring for our friends and neighbors that says, simply, "I'm here for you, and I wanted to bless you."

Yet for those of us with one of the various permutations of gluten-intolerance, things are a bit trickier. No matter how you slice it (ha! pun!) cooking for us gf-ers is a tough thing to do. From ingredients to hidden sources of gluten to cross-contamination, it can be a huge hassle. Not insurmountable, but not like throwing a chicken casserole in the oven and making a simple salad. Oh no.

First we'd have to check the pots and pans - are they safe? Then the utensils. Nothing wooden, of course! After that it'd be on to the salad - were those veggies cut on a wooden cutting board? Are there any croutons? What's IN that salad dressing, anyway? Talk about being an unintentionally terrible dinner guest...

My position with folks here (many of whom have never even heard of gluten before I came - not at all uncommon, as I never had when I lived more rurally) has been to say: please invite me over for meals - I'll provide my own food and I'm happy to have the time for fellowship with you.

This has been working fine. I haven't gotten sick once, which is SO wonderful. I love a good cup of tea, so that's something people can easily provide. I'm also happy drinking almost anything. I have a terrible weakness for Cherry Coke, and I start most days with a tall glass of apple juice. I'll even drink coffee if it's doctored up properly (read: a LOT of sugar...).

I've mentioned that Snickers bars are gf, and my office now overflows with them. When the church has its coffee hour after Sunday worship, parishoners gather around a table of coffee cakes and muffins, and someone always sidles over to me with a few mini Snickers so I don't feel left out. It's incredible and sweet and loving and full of that Wisconsin hospitality I've so missed.

But people want to do more. So my question is: does anyone have ideas for easy ways I can allow my church to love me food-wise? I don't at all mind bringing my own snacks to gatherings, and I know this will start to seem more normal to everyone as the weeks and months go on, but I'd love to offer another option or two that doesn't involve buying expensive (and hard to get, around here) gf food or running out to restaurants when it'd be more intimate to sit around a family table. Do you know of any easy gf options I can suggest that don't involve a long litany of "don't's" and a lot of small-print label reading?

I'm at a bit of a loss, so I'm coming to you, dear gf friends. What have you tried? Any suggestions would be appreciated!