MONSON – An old hymn says people should count their many blessings and name them one by one.

At Monson United Church of Christ, members brought their favorite grilling utensils to church Sunday for an annual Blessing of the Bar-B-Q.

But the message had little to do with spatulas and forks by themselves and lots to do with the gathering and sharing of food this summer with family and friends.

This is the fourth consecutive year the blessing has been conveyed at the small church on the North Guilford Road.

“It’s a wonderful way to begin the season,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Marilyn Sargent, before offering a prayer over a table covered by long-handled forks, tongs, spoons, worn pot holders and a woven food basket with a homemade cake tucked inside.

“Jesus gathered people at the table frequently … the meal is an important time to gather together,” she said.

Holding up a spatula during the worship service, Sargent jokingly referred to its size in relationship to a burger and suggested she would like to be invited to its owner’s next barbecue. The owner chuckled and said it actually was used for chicken.

While the blessing had a touch of lightheartedness, its message was that food nourishes the body and that God’s spirit nourishes the soul. “It’s just a way to honor what we do as a family of faith. It creates community,” Sargent said.

That community was what member Martha Tartachny of Blanchard reflected on Sunday. “It’s not an actual blessing of the tools, but it’s the time and fellowship and sharing that which the Lord asks us to do,” she said.

Sargent, who is serving her second year as pastor of the Monson church, will start her fifth year next fall at Bangor Theological Seminary.

She told the members they should take the blessing offered and carry it through the church doors into the world.

That message wasn’t lost on the members who gathered after the service to share in a picnic of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, homemade salads, pastas and desserts.

“It makes me feel like the summer has been ushered in properly,” Dawn MacPherson said Sunday. “It’s a time to enjoy and spend time with family.”