May 24, 2023
"We are Marching in the Light of God…" could be heard throughout the Lord's Acre, our garden, as Father J. sang a cappella. The community was there to celebrate Rogation Day with the Blessing of the Garden, Hoop House, churchyard, and Tierra Fertil. Many of our community friends and volunteers including Nativity Lutheran, Fletcher United Methodist, Feed and Seed, Calvary Episcopal, and Tierra Fertil participated in the procession, singing, and Blessing of the garden. Father J. concluded with a blessing for protection of the garden and all who labor, that the plants may bear good fruit and our area for the earth. An old fashioned indoor picnic was held with the traditional grilled hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad, slaw, chips, and desserts. Chef Martha and Grill Master Dan coordinated the tasty meal. What is a picnic without some classic mountain music?! Thanks to Peggy playing on the keyboard, Audy and Joe - lead vocals, and Kim strumming the guitar -many of our favorite campfire songs from Country Road, Jambalaya, Let it Be, and I'll Fly Away were enjoyed by all and many picnic attendees sang along.
Several members of the Beacon of Hope Food Pantry in Marshall visited our pantry on Thursday. They are transitioning to a hybrid neighbor shopping model and wanted to learn about our distribution procedures. Other news for the week is a shout out for the group of volunteers who arrived before 8:30 on Friday morning to pick 83 pounds of collards and 364 pounds of romaine lettuce. Every neighbor was offered a fresh head of lettuce on Saturday. That's practically 1/4 ton of veggies harvested on Friday!
On Saturday we welcomed 126 families representing 456 individuals and registered eight new families. City Bakery donated loaves of bread. Other donated items were Ingles-bread, Bimbos-snacks and bread, Wal-Mart and Big Lots - misc items, and MilkCo-milk. Produce this week included potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, green peppers, jalapeño peppers, collards, romaine lettuce, onions, salad, and tomatoes.
On behalf of the executive committee, thank you to our volunteers and our area churches, civic groups, local merchants, and families for all you do to feed our community helping to reduce food insecurity. We thank you and appreciate your food and monetary donations.
NEWS FROM THE LORD’S ACRE, FLETCHER
Thursday at 4 pm in the garden
"Hoe, Hoe, Hoe" We're about as far from Christmas as it gets, but it's time to hoe, hoe, hoe in the garden so we can stay ahead of weeds, which are loving the weather as much as our crops are. If you prefer, you can hand weed instead, especially around tender plants.
Last Week's Harvest
Thanks to Friday morning's harvest crew, we picked 83 pounds of collards and 364 pounds of romaine lettuce for use by neighbors in the Calvary Food Pantry. It was a true expression of God's abundance, though, admittedly, a little bit overkill in the lettuce department. We are still learning about timing our harvests.
Jesus said: "I am the life, far from whom no thing can grow." —"I Received the Living God," Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Anonymous
The above is a line from a hymn sung last week during the Eucharist at Nativity. It struck me as a wonderful affirmation about Jesus Christ (though the grammar is a little wonky as it goes quickly from first to third person.)
The lyric recalls the great hymn in the first chapter of the gospel of John, where Christ is exalted as co-creator with the Father of all things. "What came into being through him was life."
If the lyric is true, then when we are in the presence of growing things, Jesus Christ is near, and we are witnessing the ongoing creative energies of the Word, who is Christ. I don't think it's too crazy to think of seeding, weeding, and harvesting as a sacramental activity. It communicates the presence of Christ.
-- Doug Kearney
Rogation Day Blessing in the LAF
Thanks to Father J. Clarkson for providing leadership in the Rogation Day blessing and hoop house blessing last week. Around sixty participants processed around the hoop house, garden beds, compost and Terra Fertil, our neighbor on the site which advocates for good food and good work for Hispanics in the county. And yeah, there was great food and great music in the parish hall afterward.
Sobering Garden News
Our blueberry bushes and watermelon plants are clearly suffering, but for different reasons. Karen Blaedow, one of our local ag agents, visited the Lord's Acre Garden to assess problems.
Blueberries are hanging in there, but suffered some winter damage and the heavy clay soil is problematic. Some plants may need replacing and put on hills of good topsoil to give roots better drainage.
Karen took samples of stressed watermelon plants for testing, guessing they are suffering from a variety of fungal collar rot. We planted 90 plants; we'll see how many survive. We will be treating the soil with beneficial nematodes to control wireworms which were a problem last year.
