Advent is Coming!

Advent* (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday.

 The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday from November 27 to December 3 inclusive.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent serves as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for Christ's return.

The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Jesus Christ as savior and to his second coming as judge, special readings are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent.

The usual liturgical color in Western Christianity for Advent is purple or blue. The purple color is often used for hangings around the church, on the vestments of the clergy, and often also the tabernacle. On the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, rose may be used instead, referencing the rose used on Laetare Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent. In some Christian denominations, blue, a color representing hopefulness, is an alternative liturgical color for Advent, a custom traced to the usage of the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and the medieval Sarum Rite in England. In addition, the color blue is also used in the Mozarabic Rite (Catholic and Anglican), which dates to the eighth century. This color is often referred to as "Sarum blue". The Lutheran Book of Worship lists blue as the preferred color for Advent while the Methodist Book of Worship identifies purple or blue as being appropriate for Advent. There has been an increasing trend to supplant purple with blue during Advent as it is an hopeful season of preparation that anticipates both Bethlehem and the consummation of history in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Proponents of this new liturgical trend argue that purple is traditionally associated with solemnity and somberness, which is fitting to the repentant character of Lent. During the Nativity Fast, red is used among the denominations of Eastern Christianity, although gold is an alternative color.

In Advent, the Advent Prose, an antiphonal plainsong, may be sung. The "Late Advent Weekdays", December 17–24, mark the singing of the Great Advent 'O antiphons'. These are the antiphons for the Magnificat at Vespers, or Evening Prayer (in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches) and Evensong in Anglican churches each day and mark the forthcoming birth of the Messiah. They form the basis for each verse of the popular Advent hymn, "O come, O come, Emmanuel".

*To read more about Advent go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent.

Morning Has Broken

The music sung in today's service was especially moving for one of our Community Gardeners. He often sings while weeding or picking; this may account for the absence of pests since his dear wife says that his voice is  poisonous. No matter, he sings anyway and he often sings the hymn "Morning Has Broken."

"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" (it shares this tune with the 19th century Christmas Carol "Child in the Manger"). It is often sung in children's services. English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens included a version on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. The song became identified with Stevens when it reached number six on the US pop chart.

The hymn originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), to the tune "Bunessan", composed in the Scottish Highlands. In Songs of Praise Discussed, the editor, Percy Dearmer explains that as there was need for a hymn to give thanks for each day, English poet and children's author Eleanor Farjeon had been "asked to make a poem to fit the lovely Scottish tune". A slight variation on the original hymn, also written by Eleanor Farjeon, can be found in the form of a poem contributed to the anthology Children's Bells, under Farjeon's new title, "A Morning Song (For the First Day of Spring)", published by Oxford University Press in 1957.

"Bunessan" had been found in L. McBean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael, published in 1900. Before Farjeon's words, the tune was used as a Christmas carol, which began "Child in the manger, Infant of Mary", translated from the Scottish Gaelic lyrics written by Mary MacDonald. The English-language Roman Catholic hymnal also uses the tune for the Charles Stanford, hymns "Christ Be Beside Me" and "This Day God Gives Me", both of which were adapted from the traditional Irish hymn St. Patrick's Breastplate.

We're Putting on Our Winter Clothes

 Treads, or pathways between growing beds, have been cleaned out.

 Old plant materials--vines, stalks, and so on--have been removed.

 Oats have been planted as a cover crop.

Cover crops add nitrogen to the soil and crowd out weeds.

2011 Garden Outcomes

We've had three positive Community Garden outcomes this year. First, important infrastructure has been added: a water line, raised beds, and tons of mulch were laid down to assure long range soil and water integrity. Second, a children's garden was added which provided recreational and learning activities for our "Little Sprouts" and which enhanced the beauty and value of church property. Third, 3 community garden activist groups from Springfield, Kansas City, and Harrison toured the garden to learn how to plan and start their own organizational gardens.

One negative outcome this year was terrible production: with the exception of an early potato crop and leeks and onions, hardly anything we planted was successful. This was due to extremely poor growing conditions--an exceedingly wet spring and an exceptionally dry summer--and bad planting decisions: next year we'll have to be more thoughtful about what we plant, and when.

Current Activities

We have nearly finished cleaning out the pathways (treads) between the growing beds and will, over the next few weeks, begin to fill them with wood chip mulch. Be sure to watch as the big pile of chips in the back yard begins to diminish. We have planted oats as our cover crop. Oats planted in our two raised beds have jumped up and look pretty; the oats planted in the main garden beds may or may not do much jumping. It is expected to get down into the low 20s tonight (October 19th) and the soil will have to get consistently warmer to produce. Keep your fingers crossed. In any case, our fall clean-up is mostly done except for picking the last (green) tomatoes, and some stray okra, beans, and peppers.

Planned Activities

Leaves will be falling soon. These leaves will be raked into piles and carried on tarps over to the garden and used as mulch. If you are able to rake leaves we will be glad to have your help.

We are also considering adding a greenhouse to the small shed on our back lot. This will allow us to start growing plants from seeds and will also provide another dimension of learning for the Little Sprouts. If we go ahead with this it will begin sometime after Christmas.

Last year we added a 10'x25' bed adjacent to and north of the Children's Garden and grew (successfully) crook necked squash on it. We will probably add another same-sized bed to this area if we can stretch our mulch far enough.

We have been working on a small prayer garden and will finish it over the winter. 

What We Need

We ask for your continued prayers for the garden and for your gardeners, especially for those shepherding our Little Spouts. We will be grateful for the donation of bales of straw. Straw can be found at Wal-Mart for about $4.89 a bale; we will be glad to pick them up if you prefer to simply donate the money needed for this purpose. We will be very glad to receive donations of used lumber suitable for building picket fences: 4x4s, 2x4s, and 1' material that can be milled into pickets are especially needed. If someone wants to donate a picnic table we will be very grateful.

Thank You!

We are so grateful to our church leaders for supporting our community and children's garden efforts and thank them! We are grateful to the entirety of our Church Family for your support! And, we are especially grateful to the Stice and Hudspeth families for their faithful and on-going labor "in the vineyard." To everyone, thank you so much!

The 7 Principles of Reverent Gardening

Mrs. Hudspeth's Zinnias

The good garden news this week is that we have hundreds of fairly nice looking but very green tomatoes growing. If we get warm (hot) weather over the next three weeks they should ripen nicely. We are pretty excited about it all. Feel free to stop by and look and--pick some okra, beans, and herbs.

While noodling about the internet we ran across this wonderful collection of principles that closely summarize much of what your community gardeners feel. Here they are:

All of Earth is a Garden

Conscientious stewardship of a garden is a means to practice the Reverent
Gardener's ethic of service: To enhance the well-being and ecology of Earth,
nature and humanity by gardening with gratefulness to God, respect, courtesy, gratitude, and reverence.

Nature is a vast web of interdependent lives and events of which humans are only part.

By becoming a student of nature's complex system (microorganisms, insects,
plants, animals, minerals, soil, natural forces such as wind, rain, sun, etc.),
we can perceive and understand nature's subtle and dramatic workings in our
garden. Consequently, we can garden to restore, regenerate, and sustain
nature's integrity.

The value of Nature is as much for itself as for humans.

We should be grateful for the opportunity to co-create daily with nature,
and to know when to simply be a witness of nature at work and play in our
garden. In the spirit of cooperation rather than domination, not every human
intervention may be appropriate.

Gardening is an opportunity to engage in honorable effort and right livelihood.

In partnership with nature, we can be a noble steward — for a moment, an
hour, a season, and a lifetime. We can learn to be patient, observant and
curious, having faith in the mystery of nature. Above all, we can learn to
evoke in our efforts awe and wonder, and wisdom.

The process of gardening is as desirable as the end product of our efforts.

Gardening allows us to learn about nature and ourselves. We should strive
for a balanced philosophy and practice that embraces the wise and creative use
of intuition as well as an honorable and intelligent use of science and
technology. Such gardening “tools” should cause the least harm to all
without sacrificing the garden or nature's overall integrity.

A garden should be beautiful as well as nutritious.

We should strive to create a peaceful refuge that nourishes and nurtures, giving optimally nutritious food for the body and replenishing food for the soul. The highest compliment to a garden is to perceive it as an inspiring sanctuary.

Give back to Nature and your garden more than you take.
Live like you won't be here tomorrow; have reverence and compassion for
Earth as if you will be here forever. Therefore, sustain and regenerate your
garden's soil, recycle waste, and conserve water. Encourage diversity of
plants, native vegetation, and desirable wildlife, large and minute. Foster the
use of heirloom seeds and seed-saving. Use the least toxic inputs for both soil
and plant. Grow only as much as you need and can share with others while
offering a portion to the garden's wildlife. Finally, do what you can to
educate others on how to be an Earth-friendly, reverent gardener.

Fall Hopes Spring Eternal: Community Garden Update

Cock-e-leekie Soup Anyone?

An old teacher described every horrible event as a "learning experience." We've learned plenty this summer, about gardening, about the weather, and about how blessed we are to have farmers who operate, day in, day out, no matter what. Thank you, Lord, for the people who grow our food. May they be blessed a thousand fold!

Yes, first the rain, then the drought, and now millions of predator bugs have plagued us. Hardly anything grew as expected. Still, we've had some successes. Our early potatoes grew well and, before the bugs arrived we managed to harvest lots of squash of many varieties. Then, there is the Little Sprouts Garden which was a success at almost every level. Dawson Stice dropped off a watermelon yesterday (literally) and we enjoyed its sweetness a whole bunch after last night's supper.

We also have a pretty good bed of leeks, and you are welcome to go and pick some. If you don't know what to do with them, Google cock-e-leekie soup and you'll find a fine chicken and leek soup recipe to try out.

Maybe there will be tomatoes...maybe not...?

It has been difficult to resist tearing our pathetic tomato vines out of the earth and consigning them to the burn pile (it has been too hot for them to set fruit), but experienced gardeners have counseled patience. As you can see from the photo above it is possible that we may yet get some. If we get some please free to go into the garden and pick any that become available.

Apple trees rebound!

One bright spot has been our apple trees. The drought nearly killed the poor things--which hadn't been doing all that well to begin with. Consequently, we vigorously cut them back (at exactly the wrong time of the year) and lo and behold, they rebounded and look better than ever. Next year will be year three for these dwarfs: maybe we'll see some apples.

UPDATE:

Today, (August 23rd) we planted our FALL GARDEN. This included carrots, bush beans, lettuce, spinach, onions, kale, and chard. We're not exactly sure what chard is: one of our gardeners picked up a packet of chard seeds while in Zimbabwe where they apparently eat the stuff. If it grows I guess we'll eat it here too. See: always something to look forward to.

Finally, the potatoes we planted three weeks ago are now officially AWOL. If you see them hanging around town tell them to get back on the job. In the mean time: Thank you, Lord, for teaching us about how things grow, about how everything fits together, and for the steps big, and small, that we take in our walk toward You.

Pulling the Plug

The drought has gone on so long this season that our plants have not been able to set and production is almost nil. It is the nature of gardening--no pun intended--to cope with and ultimately triumph over adversity; but this year, nature is winning and we've decided to stop watering the Community Garden because what is being produced isn't worth the water we're using. So: after a good long soak yesterday (July 27th) we won't water again until a cover crop (probably oats) is planted in September.

It is possible that with some cooler weather and regular rain we could get some tomatoes; the verdict is still out on the potatoes we planted two weeks ago. And, despite an incredible number of Japanese beetles munching on them, our blackberries look pretty good and should bear fruit next season.

The good news is that The Little Sprouts Garden has been doing great. Hats off to Jill, Jennifer, and all the Little Sprouts for a fantastic first year!

Potato? Pahtahtoe?

We've had good luck with spuds this year.

It has been an odd gardening year. We've had plenty of everything we need--sun and rain--but they came at the wrong times and in unexpectedly big doses. Now, it has been about 100 degrees all week and we're feeling a bit wilty.

Last year we had plenty of tomatoes. This year we're not doing so well. It has been either too wet or too hot for the blossoms to set and consequently fruit has been slow to form. We initially took this problem personally--surely we did something wrong!--but we're hearing the same story from lots of folks, some of whom are experienced gardeners. Long story short: it will be late August before we see too many decent 'maters.

Our squash situation is different this year as well. Because we lost almost ALL of our squash last year to squash borers we over planted this year and now have squash coming out of our ears. We keep waiting for the bugs to show up, but so far we've been lucky. Anyway, be prepared for piles of crook necked squash this month.

Flowers have been a success. Mrs. Hudspeth has produced what look like State Fair winners in the Sunflower category and the zinnias are beautiful. One of the blessings of working in the garden is to walk past these flowers and seeing thousands of bees and butterflies going about their business so efficiently and perfectly.

We had good luck with potatoes, especially since we planted them in the least productive beds in the garden. Consequently, and against the advice of nearly everyone, we replanted potatoes this week in hopes of a fall crop. We did that for three reasons:

1. potatoes are easy to plant and produce satisfying foliage
2. everyone in the congregation seems to like potatoes and they all get eaten
3. Jim Long, the famous Ozark Gardener, said that we could get a fall crop--so we'll see.

We also have some beans growing and next month we'll plant some more spinach and lettuce for fall. Since this year was mostly a future building year--building up the soil and adding infrastructure--we planted fewer plants and have produced less stuff. Next year, year 4 in the history of the garden, we'll really ramp up and have already started planning. Hope and faith, as you can see, are the main products of the garden.