Earth Prayers and Hope Garden

Children's Message about gardens
The Pine Island Church worshiped at our Q Ave. property in Texas Township last Sunday.  This was the first of three outdoor services the church will host this summer.  These services are on fourth Sundays, July 28 and August 25.  The theme of these services is "Earth Prayers," and will utilize material from a book of that title edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon.  The book is a collection of prayers, poems and writings by people from all over the world, which celebrate our oneness with the earth, and calls for our participation in its healing.  

 The Psalmist wrote: “Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs” (65:8).  People around the world, virtually every religion celebrates the glory of the natural world and call on our faithful stewardship of it.  This is especially so in the spirituality of native peoples. Their songs and prayers express a great respect of the natural world. The Iroquois refrain “We return thanks,” in their thanksgiving ritual, “first to our mother, the Earth which sustains us. Then to the rivers and the streams, to the bushes and trees, to the elements, and finally the Great Spirit who directs all things.”  This prayer reveals their intimate understanding of their relationship with the entire earth community.

Planting some seeds in pots.
A similar sensitivity can be found in many other cultures.  Chang Tsai, an 11th Century administrative official in China placed this inscription on his office wall:  “Heaven is my father and earth my mother and even such a small creature as I find an intimate place in its midst.  That which extends throughout the universe, I regard as my body and that which directs the universe, I regard as my nature.  All people are my brothers and sisters and all things are my companion. (xxi).

Christians do not worship nature, but we do recognize God’s glory in it as God’s good creation and handiwork. Our story of origin tells us we are part of creation, formed from the dust, the humus, from which we get our name, human.  God places the earth in our care, to tend, till and protect. We haven’t done so well lately. The Apostle Paul recognized the groaning of creation and included the healing of creation in Christ’s redemptive act (Romans 8:18-25)
Watering the seeds.
Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, in their introduction, write in 1991,“Faced as we are now with the diminishing richness and vitality of life on Earth, we need to understand and re-experience our unity with the natural world…  In forest clearings, beneath star-filled skies, in cathedrals, and before the hearth, men and women have always given voice to this impulse.  In these prayers of the Earth we join our voice with theirs to call forth the healing that is s needed.” (xxiv)  How much truer that is today!

The Pine Island Church which worships regularly at its 7888 8th Ave. location in Texas Corners, envisioned building a church on our Q Ave. property.  To date, we have not grown enough to warrant building.  In the meantime, we have invested in the land and established Hope Garden.  For the past five years, the produce harvested has been donated to Ministry with Community, Loaves & Fishes, and families who could use the food.  By doing so we are intentionally reconnecting with the Earth, with the seasons of the year, with neighbors who join us in tending these six acres, and with those who need a hand up.  This year through a grant from the Harold and Grace UpJohn Foundation, we have hired Nickie Dishman as a garden intern.  Nickie is a homeless woman who lives at the Gospel Mission and volunteers at Ministry with Community's garden. The purpose and goal of this internship is to provide part time employment and an employment history for an unemployed person, to teach gardening practices.  In other words, to grow and nurture people as well as vegetables. 
Cabbage and Peppers


Potatoes
Volunteers are welcome.
Hope Garden work hours are 
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Hope Garden is located at 8887 West Q Ave. Kalamazoo, in Texas Township. 


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