Sunday, March 29, 2009

Prayer: Giving of Ourselves

Today's Gospel reading uses the parable of the grain of wheat to encourage us to give of ourselves to those around us. It challenges us to ask ourselves difficult questions - what I can do to build community with my neighbor? how can I offer some form of service to those closest (and farthest from) to me?

These are great questions to ask. But I'd like to give a "spin" on this emphasis to "give of ourselves."

The end of this past week the staff took a break to go on retreat at Jeffer's Tree Farm near Athens, OH. Every spring we take some sort of retreat to rejuvenate ourselves before the approaching craziness of the summer season. A large reality that came out of this retreat was the fact that I, as well as others in our community, can be more disciplined and dedicated to our own needs, especially that of prayer. Tending to these needs also allows us to better tend to the needs of those around us - therefore engaging in service and fostering community. Ironic how if we are more in tune with ourselves then we can be more in tune with our surroundings, right? So what if we take this theme of giving of ourselves and give ourselves to God in prayer? In what ways can we be more dedicated to our personal needs? How can that help us to then give of ourselves to others?

It is my natural tendency to want to surround myself with people. So during group weeks the only things that can hold me back from spending time with volunteers are my own responsibilities and my lack of sleep. When volunteers aren't here I am easily engaged by the staff community. While these are two great things that I want to continue to seek in my life, they also cause me to lose sight of my own need for personal time. I spend all my time working, hanging out with others, and wondering why my prayer life and other relationships feel a bit off. In the end all I really need is some discipline to be aware of my own needs and to do my best to take that time to rejuvenate myself, or else I become too worn out and am not the person I want to be.

Spend some time in prayer this week reflecting on that and the Farm's theme of "right relationships." Before the sacredness of Holy Week comes upon us, take some time to reflect on how you might be in a better relationship with yourself and with God.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Service: Looking for the Little Things

Spring is a wonderful season for reasons beyond the change in weather and signs of growth. March brings us College Basketball's "March Madness" and is closely followed by April's start to the baseball season. I always love these two events every year, however this time around our lack of television reception and any radio station that could pick up any sporting event leaves me a bit saddened and troubled. Clearly this is something that simplicity and community call me to overcome (and maybe it sounds like they're larger impacts than they should be), but I'd like to use this factor to reflect on service a bit.

Since I long to watch as much NCAA basketball as I can at this point of the season, I called up our community friend Betty Nicholson. Betty loves watching sports and loves having people over, and is probably my favorite community friend (yes, I have a favorite) so there were many advantages to joining her for some of the opening games of the tournament. When she asked me to take her to K-Mart to pick up her prescriptions for her eye medicine I was more than willing to say yes, although a small voice in the back of my head was wishing I didn't have to use so much gas (K-Mart is at least a 30 minute drive). But I did my best to ignore that fact and help Betty out since she does everything she can to help out the Farm and is such a positive friend for all of us. I was astounded at how grateful Betty was by this simple act, that I took my own time to help her out. She has been talking about how I offered my help for two days now, making me well aware how appreciative she is of my offering. To top things off, as we were watching basketball that Friday evening, when she went to put her eye drops in she had run out and needed to open the prescription we had picked up that day. Had I not been available (or willing) to help her out she would not have had her medicine for at least the night.

Looking back on that I felt largely affirmed by Betty that my willingness to help her out was in fact a small act of service. At the Farm we always encourage those forms of service along side our more tangible service of home repair. We emphasize the acts taken on home crew - cooking, cleaning, and welcoming friends home as a form of service. We stress the fact that we are building relationships with people and that just sitting with someone can also be a form of service. So what are some of the ways that you can serve others in these small ways? What holds you back from helping others in these ways?

I hope that in my life I can continue to do these small acts of service (or small acts of kindness) and that I can even get to the point where I don't have that nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me of the negative sides to those acts. Make sure to give of yourself today and this week...

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Community: The Benefit of Locality

One of the many great attributes to our college group weeks is that volunteers are from many places that not only span the entire United States but the entire world. It always intrigues me what life is like in other parts of the country and other parts of the world, so I try to hold back all assumptions about people and where they're from while still inquiring about what life is like for them in those areas.

This previous week I was touched when talking with a volunteer who had spent time living in Ethiopia, Russia and Germany (as well as the United States). Of course I asked the typical questions, why the move? how long did you live in each place? etc. But I was more touched when I commented that it was cool that this particular volunteer had the opportunity to see the world in so many ways and so many places. I think it is extremely beneficial to spend a week or two on an immersion in a foreign place (domestic or abroad), and so I assume that having the opportunity to live in different countries for a prolonged period of time would be even more beneficial. That benefit wasn't negative, but when I made the comment that having that experience was great the response was that it is beneficial but very challenging because of the difficulty to form really great friends. I quickly realized that I am extremely lucky to have grown up in Cincinnati my entire life, to have grown up with the same people and to have people that I could call best friends. It became quite evident that while living in different places gives us great experience for life, it also inhibits our ability to form those very strong friendships and to build that sense of community in our lives.

Today's scripture readings call us to focus our lives on what is really important. Clearly Lent is a beneficial time to do such a thing. I thought those themes can be clearly connected to this theme of friendship and community. Take some time this week to reflect on the things that you hold dear in your life. Should those things be as high of a priority as they are? Are there other things that should be a higher priority instead? Make a list of these things if you can/ have to. I would hope that your closest friends are on the higher end of that list. Give thanks for the blessing of those friendships and work to continue to build that sense of community this Lent.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Simplicity: Hungering for Bread and Justice

If they are hungry, give bread. If they have bread, give the hunger for justice.

This traditional Latin American prayer resonates in my heart and what we do here at the farm. Here at the farm, we are blessed with an abundance of food. Both local and seasonal, we try to live in right relationship with the Earth and provide healthful options for our volunteers. I hear every week volunteers on home crew talk about how easy it was to make bread or granola, and how unexpected this was. I feel that our busy culture has moved us away from the simple pleasures of cooking a meal, or understanding where our food comes from. It’s very convenient to run to the local grocery store and pick up peanut butter, but a few short minutes in the kitchen with some peanuts, oil, honey and a food processor will provide the smooth creamy treat. No hydrogenated oils here! While learning the ingredients that go into our food, we are also called to be in solidarity with those who have provided those items for us. By thinking of the tomato pickers or sugar cane farm workers, we can reflect on the quality of their working conditions and the justice of their wages. I feel that we are called to demand fair wages for these workers, to respect their human dignity so they can provide for their families. We encourage you all to look at the foods you are eating today, and reflect on where these items came from. Maybe soon you can start making them for yourself!

Some of my favorite meals are made from Mexican food, and the tortilla is a basic staple in a lot of great dishes. Enjoy!

Flour Tortillas
Combine in mixing bowl:
2 c unsifted flour
1 t salt
Cut in with a pastry blender:
¼ c lard or shortening
When particles are fine, add gradually:
½ c lukewarm water
Toss with fork to make a stiff dough ball. Form into a ball and knead thoroughly on lightly floured board until smooth and flecked with air bubbles.

Divide dough into 8 balls for large size. Roll as thin as possible on a lightly floured board or between sheets of wax paper (they don’t need to be round, hearts are fun too!) Drop onto a very hot ungreased griddle. Bake until freckled on one side (approximately 20 seconds). Lift edge, turn, and bake the other side. To serve at once, fold each limp tortilla around small lump of margarine. Or cool tortillas, wrap airtight, and refrigerate or freeze. To serve later, place in tightly covered baking dish and warm in oven, or fry briefly in shallow oil.

Stuff with your favorite ingredients: cheese, beans, peppers, etc. Or be like Ken and use it as a starter for pizza. The possibilities are endless!

Recipe from Bethlehem Farm cookbook (16) / More With Less (84)

-by Laura Sienas

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Prayer: A sustained relationship

Today (unless you're not reading this on Sunday) begins our first week of Lent. Since I was raised in Catholic Schools I was always taught the importance of prayer, especially during Lent. While Lent is clearly an opportune time to make sacrifices and give up small (or large) pleasures in our lives, it is an even more opportune time to further commit ourselves to our faith and our relationship with God. The greatest way to grow in that commitment is through prayer.

I often ask myself, "why pray?" and before I let myself get too far I call to mind the fact that God is our creator and that somehow I have a relationship with God. So just as I would spend time with my friends or family to foster those relationships I also realize that I need to spend time with God in order to foster our relationship as well.

Another key factor here is that there are many ways to pray, so what works for one person may not work for another. Therefore we all have to be creative and also in tune with ourselves. Having that fact in mind I am also a firm believer that some time each day to just sit and talk with God like we would any other friend will nurture that everyday prayer life and also help us to extend it into our daily lives. There are many ways to spend that quiet time each day, but having that 15 minutes (or more) is the place to start.

Here at the farm we always put a great emphasis on relationships and our cornerstone of community. We build community with our homeowners, with fellow volunteers, with staff members, and with all those who have experienced the farm in any way. Having that importance of relationships in mind, reflect upon your relationship with God and how you might extend that relationship through prayer this Lent. We'll pray for all of you and that you can continue to grow closer to Christ!