Recently at Villa St. Joseph we held our annual Harvest Barbecue for the gardeners of our Organic Community Gardens. We supply the burgers & hotdogs, they all bring something from their garden plot for the feast. We had people arriving bearing lovely plates with sliced red and yellow tomatoes, colourful onions, a spaghetti squash bean bowl, delectable pickles, & wonderful dessert delights with lots of lovely zucchini cake. On the verandah we all prayed in thanksgiving for the bounty of our harvest from all God’s good creation. As we gathered with our plates of garden food there were lovely stories that gardeners shared of the wonder they felt when working with the soil, sowing little seeds that become stocky plants, bearing nourishing food - and the scents & colour, wind and sun that were their companions during the months of nurturing their crops – and of the human friendships they made, born of sharing gardener’s tips, commiserating about the weather & family struggles and joy.
There was a moment when looking over the folks gathered to share the meal, that amongst the laughter, enjoyable food, some tall stories, the sun sparkling upon us that I felt a sense of “holy communion” of the moment. It was in the shared celebration of harvest amongst us, feeling the connections between our human story and the garden where we know that we are intimately joined with the warm sun, sparkling water, the bountiful earth – it is a moment of shared harvest and a “wholly” communion.
In this challenging time of climate change we can often feel discouraged with the “littleness’ of our efforts. At times I have felt that here, thinking what a small contribution 80 organic community garden plots is going to make in the grand scheme of healing our planet. But it is in moments that happen - as at our Harvest Barbecue, that I know and remember that it is only with all the small moments of accomplishment that together our efforts can add up to the big moments of planetary conversion and change. It is only with these small moments, and the little efforts we do, that can we accomplish, with God’s grace, the healing of our earth. These all, together, can lead to healing of our culture’s greed & consumerism. I know that at the Villa it is only by our shared commitment to each other, our congregational mission and vision that we make a significant, but yes small, contribution to healing of our earth and one another.
Each one’s gifts and efforts lead to the healing of the whole, no matter how small. I close with an except from the beautiful Season of Creation prayer that we recently received:
Don’t ask, “Will my acts save the world?” Maybe they won’t. But ask, “Are my actions consistent with what I most deeply believe is right and good?” This is our calling…. To celebrate and care for the world , Even if it breaks our heart.
- Kathleen Dean Moore
- Sister Linda Gregg, csj