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Newsletter # 23 CANADIAN RURAL CHURCH NETWORK Index of 23rd Newsletter (CRCN)
RURAL ISSUES ● Report Criticizes Industrial Agriculture ● The Recipe for Global Food Price Hikes
RURAL MINISTRY (Life and Faith) ● Green Fatigue ● Medicine Shrinks from Spiritual Care for Dying ● Courting Volunteers ● Circle-M Up-date
WORSHIP RESOURCES ● Sacrament Elders? ● In the Face of Anxiety ● Grounded in the Land
INTERNATIONAL NEWS ● Urban Encroachment on Rural World ● From Nowhere: Musings of a Country Preacher
EVENTS - Alex Sim Rural Ministry Symposium
BOOK REMINDERS - books by John Ikerd
RURAL ISSUES
Report Criticizes Industrial Agriculture
Industrial agriculture has failed.... A new report, sponsored by the World Bank and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, calls for a fundamental change in farming that better addresses soaring food prices, hunger and social inequities.
"We've got to make sure the footprint of agriculture on climate change is lessened. We have to make sure we don't degrade our soil, we don't degrade the water, we don't have adverse effects on biodiversity," said Robert Watson, one of the lead authors of the report (written by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology Development)...
Fifty-four governments approved the document, which took four years to complete and included input from 400 scientists from 100 countries. Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have not signed.
"The old paradigm of industrial, energy-intensive and toxic agriculture is a concept of the past"....
The group does not support further industrialization and globalization of agriculture and was particularly harsh in its criticism of genetically modified crops.
"The key message of the report is that small-scale farmers and agro-ecological methods provide the way forward to avert the current food crisis and meet the needs of local communities..."
The report has caused a case of "serious indigestion" for plant technology companies. "We're obviously very disappointed. To be quite frank we see the report was very superficial and negative," said CropLife Canada president Lorne Hepworth.
CropLife International helped fund the study, which was initiated to explore ways to alleviate hunger and poverty....
(Quoted, in part, from a report in the Western Producer, April 24 / 08)
The Recipe for Global Food Price Hikes
"The reasons for rising food costs go beyond bio-fuel to a widespread reckless indifference about agriculture, farmers and food production," notes a Western Producer Editorial.
"The economic success of Asia and other parts of the Third World ... (means that their citizens) increased the amount of protein and meat in their diets, that created a demand for feed-grain and oilseeds."
"But the world wasn't prepared ... It ignored adequate farm income that gave little incentive to invest in new technology. It ignored the shrinking agricultural land base, lost to urban industrial encroachments..."
"World grain production struggled to keep pace with demand and stocks fell ..."
"Chronic underproduction globally was made worse by bad weather in several regions ..."
"And then there was biofuel... In the USA, government policy turbo-charged ethanol development with a range of federal and state subsidies and mandates ..." (30 % of American corn is now being processed into ethanol.)
"Canada's incentives have largely followed the American model..."
Hence we are distracted from "helping to revive Third World agriculture... Poor farmers need help to pay for inputs and to adopt new technology to increase yields."
"Governments and development agencies must recognize that farmers and food production are the foundation upon which society is based ... And government policy must be focused on eradicating poverty so people can afford food.
"The goal should not be the growth and supply of cheap affordable grain, but to have prosperous citizens who can afford reasonably priced food."
(Western Producer Editorial, May 8 / 08)
RURAL MINISTRY (life and faith)
Green Fatigue
"Green Fatigue" refers to a backlash against going green, a weariness imposed by the barrage of urgings to save the planet, conserve energy and to reduce, reuse and recycle as we raise our collective environmental consciousness.
Though support for the conservation cause remains strong, according to surveys, people with green fatigue question whether new, purportedly 'greener' products are all they're cracked up to be, and whether individual efforts to help save the planet can really make a difference.
One of the things that colours their skepticism is green washing, the practice by some companies of falsely labeling products as greener than they are as a way to gain market share. Green as a gimmick, in other words ...
I pondered what farmers, the original and perennial recyclers and protectors of the environment would make a green fatigue.
My guess is that they will never grow weary of recycling because it's part of their work ethic, economics and livelihood. Such things as using manure as fertilizer, refurbishing equipment and recycling the old for new purposes is no more than common sense and perhaps even necessity.
Ever reuse twine? Nails? Wire? Wood? Buckets? Have you conserved soil? Sequested carbon? Made do with stuff on hand instead of making a trip to town? Bought something at a farm auction or stored stuff that might one day be useful? ...
The point is these folks are seldom given full credit for the work they do in feeding the planet, conserving the soil and caring for land and animals.
(Notes from a column by Western Producer Editor Barb Glen, Western Producer, April 24 / 08)
Medicine Shrinks from Spiritual Care for Dying
Medicine shrinks from caring for the spiritual needs of dying patients, even though spirituality is what most people yearn for most at the end of life, Franciscan Brother Daniel Sulmasy, a physician and philosopher, told an audience at the University of San Francisco.
Doctors tend to ignore spiritual care or back away from it out of fear of inadequacy or invading patients' privacy ... Often they think they are helping, but underserve patients by turning spiritual questions into technical problems.
For dying patients, the impulse is the reverse... The terminal patient whose spiritual life is outstanding despite great physical distress reports having an outstanding quality of life.
The split is so large that a new model for medical education may be needed ... The model would integrate biological, social and spiritual issues in training doctors.
Doctors should be mindful that patients' spiritual questions are fundamental - deeper than the biological, moral and ethical issues that concern clinicians and hospital ethics advisory boards ...
Sulmasy opened his talk with a story of the care of a 54-year-old man, Mr. 'W'. Dying of cancer, the patient was Christian and believed in the possibility of miracles, but also accepted that God might not grant one in his case. In reviewing the transcripts of interviews with the patient's caregivers, Sulmasy found that despite the patient's outspoken spirituality, his spiritual care fell short.
Mr. W's belief in miracles caused some confusion for the medical team. As a result he was transferred to a nursing home rather than to hospice care, where he would have received better treatment for his pain....
A chaplain though had correctly diagnosed the underlying problem. Sulmasy paraphrased the chaplain: "When I look at a patient I look at the primary, core spiritual need. Is it a request for meaning to try to determine what their life meant? Or are they looking for validation of their life? Or trying to reconcile broken relationships?"
Meaning, value and relationship are the ingredients of spiritual health and become urgent in the last months of life as patients strive for dignity and hope despite losing their productivity and appearance...
People who were able to find meaning in their illness, meaning in their dying, are people who understand what it is to hope in a deep way ...
Sulmasy stressed how important it is for dying patients to reconcile relationships with family, friends and God. The brokenness of their bodies reminds patients in a deep way about the brokenness of their relationships. They're looking perhaps to express their own forgiveness of someone who had hurt them or to try to be reconciled to those they had hurt, to try to bring families and friends together in ways that arise as they're dying in a very salient way ...
(Quoted from the Prairie Messenger, May / 08)
Courting Volunteers
Of real concern to every volunteer is the question "Who will do this when I'm no longer here?" Encouraging people to step up to the plate in smaller communities requires fore-thought.
Take the example of the church organist who has faithfully held the position for 25 years. How can anyone imagine, or dare, to step into shoes like that? Unless, of course, that person has given others a taste of what it's like to fit in her shoes. Inviting a youngster to play occasional appropriate piece of music helps them get through the jitters and discover the delight of sharing their skills. Developing a repertoire for the occasional Sunday when the organist might be absent instills confidence and gives teenagers the feeling they are needed.
Church Boards and volunteer committees in small communities often bring new members aboard for a year or two of apprenticeship. As they learn the ropes, they are given more responsibility and are supported by a mentor with whom they can talk about what's expected.
To bring one individual on a long-established Board is to court disaster. If the new person is bold enough to offer an idea, the probability is others will announce "We've never done it that way", and the idea dies. The outsider is soon driven underground.
But if two or three rookies are invited aboard at the same time, when they offer a fresh idea one can support the other. It keeps the issue alive until the details get massaged by a round of discussion.
The ideal is to keep a healthy balance of rookies and those with experience. One brings fresh ideas and energy. The other balances the process with wisdom and experience.
Great things can be achieved and grand feelings of camaraderie can grow if the volunteer part of our society is carefully nurtured.
(Written by Joyce Sasse, May / 08)
Circle-M Up-date
Minutes from the April 18 / 08 meeting of Circle-M (Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry, Saskatoon) include the following notes of interest ● they are anticipating that the first phase of the program will be active in the fall of 2008 ● plan to hold a Conference in Nov. 09 ● hope to develop funding to research for STM students ● are searching for ways to develop long-term stable funding ● Resource Centre - want to develop accounts for users so they can search for various resources; users would be notified when a new resource is obtained; virtual bookshelves; crossover of Circle-M resources and Saskatoon Theological Union resource databases ● will rely on personal networking to develop resources
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Sacrament Elders?
David Webber wrote an article called "Eucharistic hostages". This piece was first published in the November 1995 issue of PMC (The Practice of Ministry in Canada)and then reprinted in the 1998 special anniversary edition featuring PMC' best articles over 15 years. The writer laments how policy in our denomination means small faith communities could not celebrate the sacraments "just because they could not afford an ordained minister".
This situation is repeated across our land and at the last General Council of the United Church, the church decided to provide guidelines around the process with an education resource to enable sacrament elders in our congregations. We are pleased to report that the work has been ongoing since then for this to happen.
A draft workbook has been put together and is now being tested in several conferences until the end of June. The workbook will then be revised and available by the fall of 2008. Once a congregation is identified by presbytery as needing a sacrament elder and a suitable member is named by the congregation, that individual will work with a mentor such as a retired clergy person to complete the educational and spiritual components. This would probably mean meeting 3 or 4 times together or more if desired. When that process is complete, the mentor informs presbytery and a congregational service of recognition may be celebrated. At that time a special edition of baptism and communion resources from Celebrate God's Presence may be presented by congregation to the elder, available through UCRD.
David Webber is right: the early church met regularly to learn about their faith, to enjoy Christian fellowship, and to break bread. They ate together with "glad and generous hearts" (Acts2: 46 NRSV). May this now be the reality for all our congregations, coast to coast to coast!
(Betty Lynn Schwab, Co-ordinator for Worship & Music, United Church National Office)
In the Face of Anxiety
Seeding is going on in the midst of dry dusty conditions... We listen to the weather forecasts, and scan the sky - hoping that it will rain very soon. In the midst of sometimes hectic schedules, there is a grave concern throughout our countryside. We rely on adequate, or at least timely, rains for our survival on the farms and in the farming communities.... It doesn't help that some say this reminds them of other times of drought when the fields were dry and the dust blew.
An ancient story tells of "Death" coming to a city and being met at the gate by a man. The man asks "Death" what it has come to do. "Death" says that it will take 10,000 people from the city that day. The next day "Death" comes again. The same man is sitting at the gate. This time he says to "Death" "You said you came to take 10,000 people yesterday, but this morning's news is that 70,000 died yesterday. Why did you do this?" "Death" answers "I did take 10,000. Worry and Anxiety killed the rest ..."
Jesus saw that his disciples and those around them were worried. As usual he used what was around him in creation to illustrate his point. He tells them to look at the birds of the air and consider the lilies of the field.
There is a larger reality than the things we worry about. There is an order beyond our order of things.... Close your eyes and listen to all the sounds around you. .. A friend once gave me a poster which says: 'A bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he had a song."
"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness / and all these things shall be added unto you. Hallelu, hallelujah ..."
Can our trust in God and our realization of his constant presence to overcome the power of our anxiety? That is perhaps the question, the struggle and the challenge, one day at a time.
(submitted by Barb Alston from Manitoba, May / 08)
Grounded in the Land
"As I was on my knees digging dandelions, I really wondered what I'm supposed to get out of this back-to-nature stuff!"
The young man had grown up in the city His family had never planted a garden. Now that he lived among rural people who were excited about spring seeding and caring for their gardens he made this token gesture toward "gardening". But, skeptical by nature, he clearly justified his aversion to this kind of activity. I thought, how sad!
For me, gardening and developing my yard-scape is a life-style and an inheritance given to me by so many people. As a youngster, I helped my grandmother dig in her perennial bed. What we did together was a labour of love. As I got older, I spent time with my dad in the field. We also worked in the shelter-belt that gave us protection from the wind in the winter, held moisture in the spring, and provided cool avenues of green through the summer. Gardening and planting is about much more than putting seed in the ground and waiting for the produce. It is about connecting with the land, anticipating the weather, watching for the weeds and insects. It's about listening to the rhythms and doing a dance with the gifts of creation. And it is about doing this in the context of remembering mentors, enjoying present exchanges of information, and inviting our children to feel comfort in the arms of Mother Nature. There are the dandelions, the marauding insects, the ravages of drought and hail ... But working with nature teaches us there is the hard work, there are the disappointments ... and even the terrible upheavals. But God has given us a resiliency and a sense of new vision. With each new day, we are blessed by the Creators and surrounded by so many gifts.
(Written by Joyce Sasse, May / 08)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Urban Encroachment on Rural World
The urban perspective is gaining more and more 'clout' and having the stronger voice, with regard to the gap in understanding between the rural and urban worlds, Robyn McPhail writes from New Zealand.
According to her Australian colleague Myra Cowell, "the farming people have been pushed out into the marginal country because of the urban sprawl along the rich coastal fertile country!... The majority of farmers look after their land. A genuine farmer does the best he or she can with the land they farm otherwise they don't make a living - mostly for the average farmer it is a hard slog and the farmer is always learning and changing and moving forward in faith. We wouldn't be here if we didn't."
It's been especially hard in Australia, with water in extremely short supply, when irrigation water has been limited to farmers to ensure that the tourist operators have all they need - "They have to be looked after". A TV ad shown in New Zealand says "come to the Murray for a cruise, there's plentry of water"!
Writing to the IRCA Prayer Network, McPhail tells about receiving a message asking for good news stories about "sustainable church". ... This led her to think about how hard our rural churches are working to be sustainable churches, not as an 'add-on' to functioning as a church, but for survival. That is what takes all our energy and focus, just as all our energy on the land goes into finding ways to continue to be viable and get a livelihood that can continue on into the future. Myra writes "sustainable church is the way our faithful rural church people are maintaining their life and mission in their community."
Let's pray for greater understanding between rural and urban people: Farmers Feed Cities and Cities Buy our Food.
(from Robyn McPhail's IRCA Network Prayer notes, May 15 / 08)
From Nowhere: Musings of a Country Preacher
While visiting my Uncle Max, as a teenager in Kansas City, I first heard the phrase "He's from nowhere." Since then the small towns I have served in have almost universally be referred to as "nowhere"... When we were working to prevent Fort Riley, Kansas from gobbling up 125,000 acres of Kansas land the comment was often made "There is nothing out there." ... It was some of the finest wheat and ranch land in the nation, plus towns, communities, and homes...
I am afraid this attitude is reflected in our seminaries, which leads seminary graduates to be often ill-prepared to serve rural congregation, and feeling that serving them is serving at the very bottom of the heap...
Somehow, we must help the young men and women who are coming into ministry that the calling by God into ministry understand that serving at any place is an honor and a privilege ...
Those nowhere places are where a great deal of the food supply, fuel supply, and agri-chemical products come from. Those nowhere places have produced some of the greatest religious leaders and frankly many of our greatest political, military, and space exploration leaders...
"Nowhere" is also where much of the bio-defense, grain science, animal health, animal pharmaceutical and animal production research takes place ...
"Nowhere" is the pace that much of the person to person witnessing to the faith goes on ...
The truth is that we dare not write off anywhere as being unimportant or insignificant for either the faith or any nation's progress...
Remember, Jesus came for "nowhere". They said "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" In today's world would he have been called a hill-billy?
It is so importantly true that there is no place, urban or rural, worthy of the title "Nowhere". Everywhere is somewhere with its own slant on the faith, its own contribution to the culture and sustainability of the nation and the church. Everywhere is Somewhere!
(quoted from the Untied Methodist Rural Fellowship Bulletin USA, Winter 2007 / 08. Written by Ronald Williams)
EVENTS
Reclaiming the Light: Transformation in the Rural Congregation
● 7th R. Alex Sim Rural Ministry Symposium - Oct 27-29 / 08
● Sponsored by Queen's Theological College, Kingston, Ont.
● Theme Speakers and 16 workshops ranging from Encouraging Small Congregations to My Church Home. Interdenominational.
www.queenstheologicalcollege.ca
BOOK REMINDERS
Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture - by John Ikerd
Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that can restore economic viability, ecological soundness, and social responsibility to our agricultural system and thus ensure sustainable agriculture as the foundation of a sustainable food system and a sustainable society.
Small Farms Are Real Farms: Sustaining People Through Agriculture - by John Ikerd
Since the middle of the last century, American farm policy has taken the nation into the dead end of industrial farm production and food distribution. Farming, at its core a biological process, has been transformed into an industrial process, thus demolishing the economic and cultural values upon which the nation was founded. Along the way, small farms have been ridiculed and dismissed as inconsequential - but now the seeds of a rural renaissance are being planted, not by these industrial behemoths, but by family-scale farms.
(Dr. John Ikerd's theme presentations were much appreciated at the Brandon Conference, International Rural Church Association, 2007,) Website: http://web.missouri.edu/`ikerdj/
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