Next week, here in my home city of Melbourne, is the opening of the annual art prize and exhibition Feast•Pray•Love, initiated and hosted by the church I serve as pastor. It’s an exhibition that invites artists to explore the deeper meanings evident in the sharing of food.

The exhibition, now in its third year, is one I feel especially connected to, not only because it arises out of my own faith community, but because it adds a poetic and creative depth to the broader conversation on the importance of food in our lives. And that’s a conversation I’m invested in.

The exhibition is made all the more significant by the fact that it coincides, intentionally, with the annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Now in its 20th year, the festival is one of the most significant of its kind in our region of the world and is a wonderful celebration of the rich culinary heritage of our city and state. The fact that we can highlight food’s connection with the deeper longings of spirituality is one of the gifts we have to give.

This year the exhibition has attracted more than 45 works from around Australia. All the details of the opening, the awarding of prizes and the gallery opening hours can be found at the exhibition’s website: feastpraylove.com

[Image: ‘Carry Us’ by Rachel Peters from the 2014 exhibition]