Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Greetings to all!
One of the more recent developments in earth stewardship is the growing
attention to sustainable agriculture, particularly household, community, and
even church gardens, like the one at Walnut Hill, now in its second growing
season. Such gardening is new for many of us. We might identify with the
experience of one writer, an English professor, by the name of Lionel Basney.
A little over fifteen years ago my wife and I began growing fruit and vegetables
for ourselves. Fifteen years of spades and stakes, mulch, weeds and compost;
of rushing to get the garden in amid the hysterical busyness of the end of the
academic semester; of catching our breath when the onions leap up and run
along the surface of the ground like green flames.
We started out, a little vaguely, to be organic gardeners. Otherwise our
notions of what we were getting ourselves into were limited. My wife had helped
her mother garden and so knew more than I did. I had planted flowers and hewed
sinks for bushes out of the stiff hill-country clay. Still I remember standing one
spring morning in the modest weed-patch we meant to make into a garden, and
wondering out loud how to get started.
My mother was standing nearby, and she answered me without a word. She
reached for my hoe, stuck it into the weeds, flipped a small slab of sod over on its
back and gave it that glancing whack that loosens soil from roots - the slight
violence that starts the whole process, opening the earth to warmth and water,
making the bacteria swarm. The she handed the hoe back to me, still without
speaking. That was how to start.
(from An Earth-Careful Way of Life)
Blessing the Garden: Weather permitting on Sunday, April 25, immediately
after worship, we will offer a simple blessing of the Walnut Hill Garden. All are
welcome, both active gardeners and those of us who will have the joy of
watching the garden grow.
The Scripture lessons for Sunday, April 25:
Psalm 104
Matthew 6:25-34
(This Sunday is the second of two Sundays around the theme of Earth Day.)
Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, April 25, 10am, in Trinity Hall. Our
conversation this Sunday will focus on an Earth Day topic. Feel free to enjoy a
cup of coffee, join the conversation, or just listen in.
Youth Discussion - Youth are invited to gather for conversation this Sunday, 11am,
in the upstairs office of Trinity Hall.
In the Community:
-The Reading Camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington is seeking teachers and
assistants to staff its Reading Camp at Cathedral Domain this summer, June 20 - 26.
Contact Mike Ward for volunteer information.
-The Lexington Tennis Club is sponsoring a fundraising tennis tournament on Saturday,
June 12, to benefit Indian Summer Camp for children with cancer. You can support this
event by participating on June 12 and/or donating an item for the tournament's silent
auction. For more information, contact Barb Waldmann-Ward or Jo Moore Wallen.
Peace to all.
Mike Ward
