Sparks in the Soil

Blessing of the Sun

"Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who does the work of Creation."

I just got back inside after uttering this blessing while standing in my garden, my face warmed by one of the rare rays of sunshine to come out today. 

The blessing is a rare thing--it happens only every 28 years, when Jews believe the sun is in the precise spot in the sky where it stood when the world was created.  It is the end of a 28-year solar cycle, and the beginning of a new one.

I am preparing for a very tiny, almost non-existent Passover celebration tonight.  I have a miserable headcold, could not travel to be with my family, and am too sick to subject myself to friends.  So Rob and I will settle down to a brisket, some potatoes, and some matzah, maybe utter a few prayers, but generally just have a quiet, restful evening.

I feel very lucky that the "birkat hachama," or the Blessing of the Sun, fell today, because it gave me the chance to experience some of the spirituality of Passover even on an "off" year.  Clouds muted the sky all morning, with only moments of sunshine - but I decided to go outside and wait for the sun to arrive.  No, actually - I went outside just to see if it would show itself.  I stood in my garden, thinking about the seeds that are just planted under the soil, starting their journey toward life.  I looked at my lettuce planter, and noticed how good it feels on my eyes to see some green.  And I saw that my neighbor's lilac tree was starting to sprout tiny leaves. 

And then, a tiny breeze and the zing of the sun emerging from behind the clouds. 

"...who does the work of Creation."  I said the blessing twice.

A Passionate Call for Church Victory Gardens

Bravo to Fred Bahnson, who leads an impressive church-based community garden in Cedar Grove, NC. His impassioned post on the Sojourners blog makes a strong case for churches to re-purpose the "Victory Garden" concept into what he's calling "Cristus Victor" gardens.  From his post:

If we confess that the church is Christ’s body present in the world, isn’t it time that we asked some hard, prophetic questions about what exactly we’re ingesting? About how we’re growing all that food and what it’s being used for? How can we pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will done done on earth” while we’re polluting that same earth with our agricultural chemicals and carbon dioxide? How can we “glorify Christ in our bodies” while we sip neurotoxin-laced soft drinks and turn our children into diabetics before their 10th birthdays? Isn’t it time we weaned ourselves from an industrial, oil-dependent, gluttonous food system that’s overfeeding us as it ruins our land, air, and water? Isn’t it time we replaced it with one that treats the soil as God’s good gift that we’re entrusted with “serving and preserving” (Genesis 2:15)?

We can’t wait on the government. The church needs to create the change it wants to see. And that means growing our own food. Yes, growing our own.

For even more growing inspiration check out Fred's Theology of Eating.

Tip: Make More of Church Coffee Hour

If you go to church, chances are you gather after services and socialize, plan events, and discuss the sermon over a cup of coffee.  Why not make the most of that cup of Joe and turn it into an environmentally-friendly ritual that gives back as it perks folks up?  Some tips:

• Encourage church members to bring ceramic mugs so they can drink out of re-usable cups instead of disposables.  Or, ask members to donate old mugs so the church can have them on hand.  Spoons too, for stirring.

• Buy fair trade coffee, so you'll be serving the workers who grow and harvest the beans while you serve your congregation.  Equal Exchange has an interfaith program to provide fair-trade coffee to houses of worship.

• Compost the used coffee grounds (teabags too!) in a church compost pile, or see about donating the used grounds to a community garden's compost pile.  The compost can be spread over the church lawn, or (better yet) used in a church vegetable garden.  Just imagine--used coffee grounds become compost, compost nourishes plants, plants produce food, food feeds the hungry!

• Celebrate local, seasonal foods by serving in-season fruit cobblers or muffins alongside the coffee.  Make it a point to ring in new seasons by highlighting fresh food--grown by church members, if possible.

Interview: Jeff Rarick, Young Man with a Vision

One of the first things Jeff Rarick told me when I approached him for an interview was, "I'm not looking to start a movement." 

A movement is just what he is part of, though - he's a prime example of a young Christian who is drawn to growing food for the purpose of helping the poor. 

He's not thinking small, either.  He's got the use of (and insurance for) 10 acres across the street from his church that he's set to turn over and start planting when his hometown near Syracuse, NY thaws out.  And he's got over 100 volunteers from his church and community raring to make his dream of growing food for the Salvation Army a reality.

Jeff is no clean-cut farm kid, which makes his transformation into the leader of this ambitious project all the more remarkable.  In his younger days, he was known more for repeated drunk driving incidents--including one that almost killed him--than for responsibly overseeing a $19 thousand farm budget and answering to a Board of Directors. His is an inspiring story, and I for one look forward to seeing how it unfolds as the weather turns warmer.

Meet Jeff in these highlights from our e-conversation about the Matthew 25 Farm:

How did you come up with the idea to grow food for the poor?

As the Bible says in Acts 2:17, "In the last days your young men will see visions." And I have had my share of them. One that happened often was of the future, with me feeding people with food I grew on a farm.  There were acres planted and many people stayed with me because they had no place to go.  Up until this new year, these were just dreams and visions.

With a hurting economy and a new church my parents had planted, I decided to try and start a garden for the poor.  It was sown on my heart by God, and I figured if He is for it, it will succeed.  If not, then that's life.  

I started by finding a source to give food away: the Salvation Army.  Then God put it on my heart to grow 10 acres, but I only had 2.  But my faith was increasing and I did not doubt.  So I called many, patiently.  Then, several weeks later God literally dropped a Christian in my lap that had land that he would loan me for free.  After I located the property I saw how big the miracle was-- it is hidden directly across the street from the church,  on a lovely hillside.  If it got any closer it would have bitten me in the backside!  Many more blessing have come in such as tractor loans and the such. 

Why do the farming through the church?  Why not do it as a secular agricultural project?

I am a Christian, a citizen of The Kingdom of Heaven, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.  My mind and soul are already in Heaven.  So to do anything secular is a waste of time, but to do something here on Earth that glorifies Jesus and can show people that God is alive and tangible is certainly worthwhile.

What has been the biggest challenge in getting your project off the ground?

My biggest problem is a small lack of faith at times.  Even though I can see so much, the devil is always trying to get me (us) to doubt.  And I am faced with some opposition from fellow Christians who are...jealous?  Others try to give Godly advice, but are really only giving me their own personal opinion vs. a word the the Lord has given through them.  That is tough, especially when you love them a lot.

What do you think is the biggest misconception most people have about Christians farming and growing food?

Some think I am a socialist, others a hippie.  But I am just a Christian who is following my orders from God.  Nothing more.  I have no interest in personal fame or glory.  I am not trying to start a movement.  I'm just working with one that has been rolling for 2000+ years. 

Are you an experienced farmer/gardener?  Where does this passion come from for you?

I am not an experienced gardener.  Well, I do have a garden the size of a house that feed the family.  And I grow wine grapes too. I used to grow things that that Big Brother really frowns over, and was really good at it.  So, I suppose I do have some experience. 

And this passion is from God.  In Revelation 20:11-15, among other places, the Bible makes it clear that every human being will have to stand before God, as Judge.  Every thought, action, and word said will be looked over.  So, since I know I will be there I better do a decent job while here on Earth so I won't be ashamed then.  My past is forgiven, that's the purpose of Jesus.  So, I only need to try and do my best forever.

Matthew 25: 'The Least of These'

Here's the passage from the Gospels that inspired Jeff Rarick to name his farm the Matthew 25 Farm:

"Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 

And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'"
--Matthew 25:34-40

The Jewish American Farmer

Check out this interesting article about the young eco-Jews who are starting farms and gardens across America, guided by the plentiful Jewish teachings on agriculture (found in the Mishna Zearim texts, which make up 1/6 of the Talmud). From the article:

"They leave a corner of their field unharvested for the poor, in accordance with the Mishnaic Tractate Pe’ah, or corner. They don’t plant wheat and barley together, a teaching from Tractate Kilayim, or holding back. They slaughter goats and chickens they raise themselves, practicing "tzar ba’alei hayim," the commandment to show kindness to domestic animals. They say a bracha, a blessing, before they eat. Some keep kosher, some do not, but all are committed to some kind of Jewish dietary practice."

What fascinates me about the trend of Jewish farming and "eco-kashrut" is that it's really a theological and political shift for American Jews.  Time was that Jewish farming meant kibbutz farming -- moving to Israel to turn the promised land into a teeming, beautiful oasis that could feed those who lived there.  Now, young Jews are as interested in farming, but not in a Zionist way.  They feel drawn to the land, not The Land.

"Plant where you're planted" is an idea I'm bouncing around my head, especially in light of the passage from Jeremiah I read last week.  Because they've grown up in a world where Israel is a sovereign nation, these young Jewish farmers take a biblical, not a Zionistic, view.  They see God in the act of nurturing food from the soil, in the process of living by the commandments for how to feed yourself.  That's a luxury the Zionist pioneers didn't necessarily have, and it is so telling of the desire for connection and spiritual groundedness that young American Jews feel today.

Oh, and finally, I was so encouraged to read this about those who lead Jewish farm education programs like The Jewish Farm School and Kayam Farm: "The leaders of these programs say they look forward to the day when every Jewish community center, synagogue and day school will have its own garden."

Amen and amen!

Gardens in the Bible: Jeremiah's Roots

In my ongoing study of the gardens of the Bible (click here for some thoughts on Eden), I came across this passage in Jeremiah:

"Cursed is he who trusts in man, who makes mere flesh his strength, and turns his thoughts from the Lord. He shall be like a bush in the desert, which does not sense the coming of good: it is set in the scorched places of the wilderness, in a barren land without inhabitant.

Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord alone. He shall be like a tree planted by waters, sending forth its roots by a stream: It does not sense the coming of heat, its leaves are ever fresh; it has no care in a year of drought, it does not cease to yield fruit." --Jeremiah 7:5-8

This classic "cursed is/blessed is" prophetic construction hinges on the metaphor of a growing, fruit-bearing plant.  The curse is a barren land. The blessing is a fruitful one.  The curse is to be carelessly planted in the desert, to be scorched by the desert sun. The blessing is to set its roots "by a stream" so it does not have to "sense the coming of heat."

God in this passage is the metaphorical gardener; His people are the plants.  But given the whole "made in God's image" idea, so too are we gardeners, and the fruits of our lives (and our gardens) are the plants.  Our work, it would seem, is to choose wisely where we set our plants into the earth, hopefully landing someplace where our leaves can be "ever fresh."

I wonder how the early 20th century Jewish pioneers who first turned the arid, sandy soil of Israel would have read this passage.  They had no stream, and they had "cares" from drought to starvation to attack. But they were determined to till the un-tillable into a place that "does not cease to yield fruit."  And they did--they earned the "blessed is" side of Jeremiah's equation, and understood the two sides of the metaphor.  They both planted and were planted.

How does this passage speak to your gardening life?  In addition to the Israeli pioneers, I think of  container gardens on high-rise balconies, blighted brownfields turned into urban oases, and the myriad other ways in which people are planting wherever they've been planted.

Grower in the Spirit: Jeff Rarick, Syracuse U. Student

Bravo to Jeff Rarick, a mechanical engineering student at Syracuse, who not only motivated his church to start gardening, he is in the process of securing up to a dozen acres off church property to grow produce to donate to a church food bank as well as the Salvation Army.

He has big plans for this project: he says he needs 100 volunteers for every acre of land, plus a $28,000 budget to make the farm productive. But he already has gotten a landowner to let him farm his land for free, if he gets insurance and proper supervision for the project. 

As he told Syracuse.com, "When I say God's hand is on this project, I really mean it because there's miracles happening that are so random, I think that is the word, that you can't ignore the fact that God is helping out," he said.

Do you know any "growers in the spirit?"  Please send 'em my way!

In Search of a Boston Congregation That Wants to Garden

As I wrote about in my very first post, I am hoping to write a book about faith communities that have gardens at their houses of worship.  I have plans to visit congregations around the country that are doing this, but I would love to follow a congregation as they start a new garden this year.

I thought I'd put the word out: are any of you part of a faith community that has thought about (or is just starting to think about) planting a garden?  Please let me know--especially if you're in the Boston/Cambridge area--I'd love to follow your progress!

Green Nuns and Their Veggies

Treehugger had an awesome article last week about a group of nuns, The Episcopal Sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit, who are in the process of having an entirely green convent built...in West Harlem.  It looks like an amazing piece of architecture, complete with natural light, solar-heated water, and environmentally-friendly ventilation.

What I like best about the article is how it mentions casually, almost in passing, how these sisters have grown their own vegetables for years.  I think it underscores the point that people of faith, particularly those who live in intentional communities, tend to have an easy, logical connection to producing their own food, finding all their nourishment within their own space and not needing more than what they can make for themselves.