Next week, here in my home city of Melbourne, is the opening of Feast•Pray•Love, an annual art prize and exhibition 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. This year’s theme is ‘a place at the table’ and has attracted more than thirty works from Australia and overseas.

The exhibition, now in its sixth year, is one I feel especially connected to, not only because it arises out of my own 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 25th 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, as a church, can highlight food’s connection with the deeper longings of spirituality is one of the gifts we have to give.

Opening night and the awarding of prizes will be held on Monday March 5 in the narthex gallery at 174 Collins Street, Melbourne. It begins at 6.30pm. The exhibition will then be open to the public 11am to 4pm Mondays to Saturdays through to March 25. The church’s beautiful Verandah Café will also be open.

For more information, call  9650 1180 or go to the exhibition website: feastpraylove.com