Farm Fresh August 2020: Sacraments, Black Lives Matters, Growing Protein, Blueberry Workday

Farm Fresh News - August 2020

In this issue:

Sacraments
Black Lives Matters
KTC Delivers!
Growing Protein
Blueberry Socially Distance Workday

Liatrus, a wildflower in The Farm's restored prairie barrens

Sacraments

One of the things that inspired me about the spiritual path as defined by the early Farm Community was its new definition for the word “sacrament.”

Raised attending a Southern Baptist Church, my only exposure to the idea of sacrament were the small, paper cups of grape juice and dry crackers served occasionally as communion. Going through the motions, the grape juice symbolized the wine, and crackers, the bread served by Jesus to the masses. Participation in this ritual is supposed to bring within you a closer connection to God and Christ. The word “sacrament” is defined as a ritual which aligns one with Divine Grace to the sacred.

In The Farm Community, the experience of childbirth, natural and unencumbered by the distractions at a hospital, allowed the actual moment of birth to work its magic. It became a cornerstone, a sacrament that defined The Farm Church.

Every person present at a birth is affected by the miracle of life, a new being brought forth. Bathed in the glow of life force, childbirth is one of the most powerful and transforming experiences we can ever encounter. From woman to mother, man to father, couple to parents, child to brother or sister, parents to grandparents, all brought to a new place in their lives.

I, and we came to see sacrament with a broader meaning, as a catalyst for transformation, the most powerful as something that permanently changes you, moving you forward in a positive direction, allowing you to grow as a person, connecting you to something greater than yourself.

By defining childbirth as a sacrament, it shifted the word from something abstract to a direct experience. Beyond symbol, it came to also represent the steps along the spiritual path and the unfolding of a life. Just as the lotus slowly opens to reveal the jewel, the care and raising of a child is one of the sacraments that unfolds over the course of a lifetime. It extends to our responsibility to care for all children.

The birth of our son, 1974

All across the world, marriage, the union of two people coming together as one couple, is honored and revered, a ritual and life passage that is held in deep respect by both religious and secular communities. It falls clearly into this new definition of sacrament, an experience that changes someone forever, regardless of whether the marriage lasts or comes to an end.

In tandem with care of the children, care of the elderly, our aging family and friends, can also be regarded as a sacrament, service on the spiritual path. We bring respect to the individual, and the process produces change in the caregiver who sees their own mortality reflected in the dimming spark of Life Force carried by those transitioning from this reality to the great mystery. The end of life for every human being is sacred, and those present at the moment of passing are profoundly affected as the final breath leaves the body.

For many of my generation, the psychedelic experience profoundly changed our lives forever. Our Consciousness was opened to the understanding that there was more happening beyond the material plain of hard reality. We understood that there is an invisible power, as real as electricity and radio waves, that connects everyone and everything. We came to see that everything we do, everything we say, everything we think, has a direct effect on us, those around us, and the manifestation about our reality.

Tribal peoples have understood this for centuries and have used sacred plants as a tool to deliver this experience. The shaman is one who walks the line, the bridge between this reality and the great mystery. Going beyond symbolism, these substances bring about the direct experience, are sacraments, connecting the spirit to the sacred.

How do you define sacrament? What experiences do you regard as sacraments? What are the sacraments of other cultures and how might they be reflected in our western culture?

peace,

Douglas

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Blacks Lives Matter - Closer to home

We were recently saddened to learn of the loss of another young black man's life, the great grandson of our beloved Farm member, UmmSalaamah, who has been part of our family since the 1970s. I share this with you to say that these are not just stories on the television news. These incidents are real and touch families who will deal with tragedies like this for the rest of their lives, and generations to come.

From UmmSalaamah:

"This is my great grandson. He died Thursday. 911 was called because he was unresponsive. The Springfield Township Police Department (in their part of Cincinnati, OH) are the 1st responders. He had no warrants, nor was he suspected of any crime, but he was handcuffed & dragged outside & left lying in the grass. No attempt was made to resuscitate him by the police or by the EMTs when they arrived. The ambulance stopped twice by the side of the road on the way to the hospital. My family is devastated. It has taken me a couple of days to accept that he is gone! He was a charismatic shining light, loved by his younger siblings and cousins. He loved and took care of his babies and he always made me smile!
Rest In Peace Raekwon Dixon

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Kids To The Country Delivers!

KTC volunteers drop off gift bags for kids in Nashville

In the last week of July, 25 gift bags from Kids To The Country (a Plenty project) went to Safe Haven Homeless Family Shelter, and the next day 25 gift bags for low income families in North Nashville were delivered to Be A Helping Hand, another Nashville nonprofit. In the bags were potted plants, art supplies, including nature scenes to color and colored pencils with a sharpener, plus some healthy snacks. Also provided was a packet of educational materials for parents and kids! Books To Kids (another Plenty project), provided quality books for the kids, which they loved. Thank you to the many Farm folks and friends of the Farm who donated to make these special gifts possible. Next up is procuring the 50 bikes and helmets for these same kids!

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More Life in the Garden - Growing Protein!

Black beans and pinto beans: left, May / middle, in flower early to mid-June / right end of July, beans drying on the vine
I begin my harvest as soon as the pods change from green to yellow.

Some years ago, I took up the challenge to grow my own protein. It was some in response to homesteaders who claimed you needed animals in your garden cycle. While I think a small family farm may be able to grow animal protein sustainably, I do not believe it is sustainable for our planet. In addition to pasture, you also have to grow fields of hay, corn and other grains to feed your cows through the winter. Pigs may root for some of their food, but they don't graze and require to be fed all year round. That's a lot of land.

This year I grew two 50 foot rows of black beans and pinto beans, harvesting nearly 15 pounds!I

I pull the pods off the vines as soon as they change from green to yellow and become soft, so I can get to the beans before the Mexican Bean Beetles and other insects start munching holes in them. I shell the beans while I watch TV at night and then place them in my dehydrator to finish off the drying. It is a lot of work, not really cost effective, but I am learning that should I truly need to, I can grow all the protein I need myself!

Blueberry Workday!

Our blueberry harvest was a bit light due to a late frost. There were still lots of nice clusters though!

Community workday in the blueberry patch!

A number of us have been meeting every Tuesday morning at 8 AM to spend a couple hours working on community food projects. We have a 5 acre Food Forest, a mixture of many different kinds of fruit and nut trees, now in its 5th year, which we have been mulching with cardboard covered in wood chips. Now we have moved out to our 1 acre blueberry patch, where are again weeding and mulching, which will be followed by pruning. It is a great way to see each other outdoors while staying socially distanced, working on different rows.

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Peace,

Douglas

Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com