A Solid Foundation

"When He (Jesus) disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things...Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all...Then he made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray." - Mark 6:34, 41, 45-46

Another week has passed here at the Farm and with that, another group of 35 high school students have been sent back to their hometowns with the commission to bring their experiences here on the mountain to those they return to live with. At first this may seem like a daunting task and to some it may seem impossible. How can the experiences at the Farm be brought home to those who have never been here? Is Nazareth Farm only possible because you are living within a group of believers all there for the same purpose? At a quick glance it may be easy to make that argument. However, when you take a deeper look you will find that Nazareth Farm is a result of believers living and working on a solid foundation, the four cornerstones. Prayer, simplicity, service and community are the four cornerstones which built the Farm and today they are the four cornerstones which continue to hold it together (30 years now).

It is important to remember that at one point, Nazareth Farm did not exist. This is important because that fact means that Nazareth Farm was created amongst a community of believers and non-believers alike. It was created in the "real world"; the same world in which all of you have returned to after leaving the Farm. This last week during our "life after the Farm" talk on Friday night we asked the volunteers what the challenges were that they faced during the week. One person said it was difficult to live in constant community and to not be allowed as much personal time as they would have liked. Another stated that it was difficult to not take a shower every day. Others stated that the work at the work-site was difficult and still others talked about their realized dependency on time, cell-phones and i-pods.

After reflecting on their difficulties, we asked them to reflect on what it was that helped them continue through those hardships. It was at this moment the cornerstones began to shine. The man who said community was over-bearing made it through by finding time for personal prayer. The lady who stated it was difficult to get used to being dirty said she found comfort by the fact that the whole community was dirty and did not care. Those that had trouble at the work-site said that it was rewarding to see the joy and happiness in the faces of those they served and the ones who found it difficult to let go of their phones, i-pods and watches said they were able to experience God through simple things like nature. Any one of the cornerstones can be overbearing and challenging at times. However, a house (or a life) is not built on one cornerstone. In order to stand strong you need the other three cornerstones to help share the weight of the most difficult cornerstone in your life.

This is something Jesus recognized as well and it is evident in the bible passage given above. Jesus came among a crowd of people and had pity on them because they seemed lost. He began to serve them, and teach them. In other gospels it states that he healed the sick as well. Upon entering a community of people he started with service, the giving of his gifts. Jesus began to build a relationship with the people and recognized that the day was late and that they were getting hungry. He could not have known that unless he was in tune with the communities needs which means that he spent time getting to know them. In order to solve the issue of hunger he instructed his disciples to find some food and to begin the simple act of sharing. He did not feed the crowds wine and fruits and expensive food of his time, but rather the thousands of them shared a simple meal of bread and fish, a meal of a commoner, not a king. He also instructed them to eat only what they needed and once all were full he put none of it to waste and had the leftovers gathered into baskets for later redistribution (or perhaps compost). After a long day of serving the people, building community, and doing both in a simple manner, he left the people for a quiet place to pray on his own. Perhaps he recognized that it took a lot of strength to minister to the people and that he needed prayer to rejuvenate his body.

This week we ask you to reflect on how you can live out the cornerstones in your community? Can you identify a need in your community and how can you find ways to meet that need through service? What cornerstone is most difficult to live out and what cornerstones can assist you in that difficulty? We hope all of you can and are finding ways to live out your experience at Nazareth Farm back at home.

Welcome Home,
Nazareth Farm

New Life

“Seeing, then, all things have an end, these two things are simultaneously set before us--death and life; and every one shall go unto his own place. For as there are two kinds of coins, the one of God, the other of the world, and each of these has its special character stamped upon it,[so is it also here.] The unbelieving are of this world; but the believing have, in love, the character of God the Father by Jesus Christ, by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us.”
– St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians

Welcome Home! For many of you those words may already bring back memories of joy, love, friendship, tears, service and maybe even outhouses; however, this last week those words have taken a new meaning for some families and for at least two new staff members at the Farm. We just finished our annual family week at the Farm and it could be said that the themes Old/New, Life/Death were very apparent. Family week is a very special time in which many families come together to become one huge family in Christ. At times it may seem like one large family reunion as many of the families have been coming for years. However, the experience is never the same as new families are added into the mix and old families progress in their work, spirituality and age. Some of the kids have been coming to the farm since they were very young children and now are grown teens who are experiencing the reality of Christ for the very first time; even after coming for years.

This last week we also welcomed two new staff members named Jordan and Jessie. They are an engaged couple from California and Michigan who have focused their lives on service to Gods people and with their arrival the Farm Staff is at full strength minus one last addition coming in October. Kelly was able to share during shared prayer that this last week she was able to realize the completion of a transitional period. She is finally able to settle in and fully function as a loving mother of two young kids as well as a hard working friend and family member through Christ at the Farm. A feeling of comfort and peace comes with being able to put transition behind and focus on the reality of HOME.

Transitional periods are often difficult and hectic. Change and newness is easy to reject and the comfort of tradition has its benefits and attachments. However, it is in newness that the old is to be reflected upon and improved where needed. It is in newness that life is most easily recognized. Jesus Christ came into this world by the Holy Spirit to bring new Life into our world. He was speaking of Life to a people oppressed, poor, brutalized and dead spiritually in the law and oral tradition of the Pharisees. Over the years, the laws of Moses had lost some meaning and life. Christ did not come to condemn the law but rather to bring a new life and fulfillment in the law. He was calling people to a reflection of the old and openness to his new wine (New Covenant).

The Farm is experiencing its 30th anniversary this year and in many ways it has kept the traditions, values and focus alive. However, it has also brought in an abundance of new ideas, new transformation and new life which has shaped it to become the way it is over the years. Each new person brought to the farm both staff and volunteer brings a uniquely different spirit and experience which makes an impact on the farm. Like an old pair of shoes each puddle and each step has a lasting effect which tells a story of where they have traveled and what they have done.

This week we invite you to reflect on your life. Where has your life taken you and most importantly how has Christ shaped your being? As Christians we are called to die to ourselves and live with the new spirit and clothing of Christ. What does this mean in our lives and how are we affected by those around us? How do we share our uniqueness and love with those we encounter and how can we impact their lives to bring newness, peace and comfort?

Welcome Home,
Nazareth Farm

Still Growing with Ken and Jessica

Jessica shares with us the reality of living the cornerstones of the Farm after moving back to St. Louis...

With the inspiration of a good book, I have tonight come to an important realization. I can still grow – in my faith, in sustainability, in all of the cornerstones – away from the Farm. It’s a very basic idea, but it’s tougher than it might seem. The Farm really provides ideal conditions in which to carry out a certain lifestyle, and it’s hard to duplicate much of that in a city environment. Take compost, for example. I have to do more research, but so far we have found no one that will accept compost composed of food scraps. We could get a worm bin, but I’m not sure I’m ready to have that in our apartment…

Back on the topic at hand, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately analyzing our lifestyle and trying to decide if we’re living up to the ideals we set while living in West Virginia. Our situation has changed significantly, so the way we live out some of the cornerstones – community, for example – has changed drastically. So I keep trying to think of ways that I can improve in such a way that we more closely echo the Farm’s model.

This can be a great tool, but tonight’s revelation provides a certain freedom with a side of encouragement. Our growth is not limited to becoming more and more like the Farm. We can accomplish great things! And being in a city environment gives us the opportunity to grow in new ways. We can still place that growth within the framework of the cornerstones, if that is helpful. But we can expand our horizons and spread our excitement into new realms.

Some of the topics I have been exploring since leaving the Farm include economic inequality, race relations, and urban gardening. The list will continue to grow in proportion to my stack of library books, which is already towering. And as I read, I incorporate new attitudes and ideas into my lifestyle. I begin to take action, to live out the cornerstones in a new way. That’s one way we’re bringing home the Farm.

Opening Our Eyes by Steve Seitz

This week's blog post comes from Steve Seitz, a past chaperone, and his reflections on how Nazareth Farm opened his eyes... this was published in the June 28, 2009 edition of The Catholic Moment (page 9).

Nazareth Farm experience opens eyes and hearts

I recently had the good fortune of chaperoning a group of kids on a week long mission to a special place... Nazareth Farm.

Nazareth Farm is a service-oriented ministry in the Appalachian hill country of West Virginia. Its mission is two-fold: to live out the call of Jesus to love and serve our neighbor, and to introduce people of all ages to the great blessing to be found in answering that call. Nazareth Farm has been succeeding at both for 30 years.

As soon as we arrived, I knew this would be a unique experience for me. We pulled into the driveway as the staff all came out of the house to welcome us. Anyone watching would have thought we were there to visit family. In a very real sense, I guess we were.

Our small group from St. Louis de Montfort Church, Fishers, was not the only one. By the end of the evening, groups from five other parishes/ schools arrived - all strangers to each other. In less than 24 hours, we were friends and family, celebrating being together for a common purpose.

We were there as volunteers. Nazareth Farm provides home repair to people who might otherwise live in homes they are physically and/or financially unable to maintain properly. In keeping with Catholic social teaching, the dignity of the homeowners is respected in that they are asked to pay for materials, with all the labor provided by volunteers. Through a special arrangement with the farm, the cost of materials is not allowed to be a barrier to people having proper housing.

The truly amazing thing that happens on the farm is this: Volunteers come, expecting to work in the homes of people living in an economically impoverished area and they go home amazed at the work the Holy Spirit has done in the hearts of people living in a spiritually impoverished world.

At one moment in prayer, we listened as "Open the Eyes of My Heart" was sung. Should we have been surprised when our prayer was answered? Of course, the challenge for us is to keep those eyes open now that we are all back home.

The work was more strenuous than many of us had done for a long time, if ever. Volunteers were divided into six groups, and off we went each day.

Armed with love, cold water, a cooler full of lunch and little experience, we tackled the work laid out for us. One group worked on putting a new metal roof on a couple's home. another installed siding. Still another rolled out fresh tar over a leaky roof.

The most meaningful work for my crew was installing a fenced play area for a little girl. She lives with her grandmother, who worried that the child would wander too near a deep creek or too close to a busy road that borders their property. We worked in the heat and rain, but at the end of each day our group was still smiling, glad to be together.

Our eyes truly were opened to what can happen when we make ourselves available to the Holy spirit. He was present there with us and with the people who allowed us to serve them in Jesus' name.

In giving, we received. It was an awesome week.

How have your eyes been opened by this experience?

If you have reflections you'd like to post feel free to send them our way!

Simplicity: What it means to be "humble"

When we are able to extend simplicity beyond material matters and to a mental simplicity it is common that we think about being humble. The desire for humility makes us think that we should deny all compliments and direct all attention away from ourselves... that we are not worthy of praise but only giving of ourselves. I'm no Latin expert, and I have a bad memory of where I read this, but I read once that to be humble is to acknowledge our own humanity. In that acknowledgment we become aware of our own limitations, the fact that we have faults and make common mistakes. But in that process we also come to know ourselves and that is what really makes us humble. When we know what drives us and what turns us off to the world around us. When we know what our strengths are and the things that really challenge us. In doing that we become willing to use those desires and strengths to give of ourselves, but we also use those turn offs and challenges to challenge ourselves to give to others. And if we are able to know ourselves to this level, then we also enable ourselves to receive praise and to praise others as well. There's a reason we give work groups the time to affirm one another on Friday afternoons, so that they can realize their own gifts and receive that praise, but also recognize the gifts of others and how our humanity calls us to be interdependent.

Spend some time this week reflecting on your own humility. Do you know yourself well enough that you can accept and give affirmation? Why or why not? Do you use your gifts to give of yourself? If so, how? If not, how could you? Challenge yourself to grow by spending some time reflecting on what makes you who you are. That is what makes you humble.

Bringing it Home with Tina

This weeks post comes from former staff member Tina Marquart who now works at the Hospitality House in Alderson, WV. Tina enthralls us with her wisdom this week...

A simple truth: “So many want to live at the top of the mountain, but few realize that the growth and happiness occur while you’re climbing it.”

On many a Saturday morning at the Farm, I would listen to the story of the Transfiguration. Now when I hear that story, my thoughts drift fondly to those ridiculously early mornings in the OC. And like I would then, I still smile at Peter’s excitement, at our shared humanity, when he exclaims: “Lord! It is good that we’re here!” In the immediate wake of his revelation is his intense longing to remain there, in that moment, with Jesus. I can almost see James and John gathering sticks for a celebratory bonfire J I’m sure we’ve all felt that way! When we catch a glimpse of our Lord transfigured, of Heaven on Earth, of the breathtaking view at the top and feel pure jubilation and wonder pulsing through our veins, of course we want to stay!!! Oh, but friends, we are called to live every step of the journey: up each precarious inch of the ascent, in amazement at the grandeur of the top, and down every reflective stride of the decent. And we are to keep this in mind: while our first mountain is no doubt a sacred part of our journey and a most enriching experience, that first mountain is never intended to be our only.

So, what did I learn from the Farm?

One of the most prominent truths I hold to is that I am called to live every one of my days just as intentionally as I did at the Farm. Certainly my days now are drastically different from my days at the Farm, but today is as much of a gift as were those days. These sights and sounds, painted and composed by the same Creator, are just as magnificent. The companions on this stretch of my journey are just as cherished by the Beloved and deserving of my patience, kindness and compassion. Truly, the point of a mountain isn’t to memorize it and recreate that experience everywhere and with everyone else. In living that way, we will most assuredly be disappointed in our days. Rather, the point is to take the lessons learned (to join in a fabulous game of hide and seek with the Beloved, to tread lightly on this gorgeous Earth with which we’ve been gifted, to see the face of Christ in those I encounter, and moreover, my inherent connection to each of those souls, to serve, to be lovingly honest, to pray, to give hugs, and to dance) and keep on keepin’ on.

I hope and pray that each of us can accept with grace the paths to which we are called and that we are able to make the trip learning and loving the aches and truths along the way. May we always be able to value the mountain behind us, and summon the tenacity to keep hiking J Happy trails, friends!

Service: Sharing Our Desires with God

Let's admit it, sometimes we can't do anything but think about the future, about what opportunities lie ahead of us and how much we might want to pursue a certain one. Then when that opportunity that we were looking forward to so much doesn't work out we become upset. But lets ask ourselves, why are we upset? Is it because we made a mistake? Or is it that the lack of control we have over our own lives hits us like a brick and makes us realize that God is in control rather than ourselves.

Maybe we're hoping to make plans with a friend and then something sudden changes those plans. Possibly we're looking at a university to pursue a bachelors or masters degree but are then rejected by that university. Maybe we're wanting to get to bed a bit earlier but then a friend in need keeps us up late. There are common, and somewhat small, examples of those times when our lack of control becomes so apparent. Instead of becoming upset and so greatly frustrated we should be turning to God. We should be saying, "Ok, that's not what you're calling to, show me your will..." We should be putting ourselves at the service of our Creator so that we can grow closer to God but also help those around us grow closer to God as well. But first we need to share our desires with God so that we can lead a life of prayer. This doesn't mean to put our desires aside, or to completely push aside all initiative towards those things we want to pursue, but instead to prayerfully pursue those opportunities and people around us. Let us seek to live a life of service and not be too caught up in what lies ahead. Be present to God, yourself and those around you so that you may be of service.