Close Encounters

I had a meeting a few days ago with some guys I have been trying to make contact with. One of the cool things about ministry on the edges is that there aren’t as many blocks to weird ideas. So far, no one has said to me, “that’s crazy.” And believe me, I have proposed some far-out stuff. So, these contacts are about brain-storming, about doing ministry in ways that are different not because they are so much new, but because they have been forgotten.

One of the guys, Ryan Koch, is a counselor and is looking for ways to bring counseling to some people who need it but can’t afford it—the very kind of people in our neighborhood. We are setting the groundwork for having a “counseling bank” where people can come, maybe on our mission night, and also receive some counseling. Hopefully that can take off, and make some use of the counseling students at the seminary.

The other fellow, Will Samson, is writing an interesting book on living a life of justice in the burbs. When I can remember the title, I’ll pass it on. It’s big stuff. Anyway, he and I have been in contact because in a totally random way we found we have a passion in common: getting good, nutritious food to the hungry and poor. In another blog entry I’ll tell you how I got into that (because it is an important lesson in the HOW of ministry with marginalized people), but for right now, it’ll set me off on an episode and I’ll get confused and this will make less sense than it does! Will is part of a sociology project that looked at food access in North Lexington. He has some great detail about what we already know on a general level: if you are poor, your access to food is not good, and what food you do get is more expensive. The simple fact is if you walk to the neighborhood grocery, you will pay a premium on goods you could get cheaper if you had a car. In addition, none of the grocery stores in our area had any fresh vegetables, and the only cheese they had was processed cheese product.

So a few months ago we started hatching plans to have a farmer’s market at The Rock La Roca. It will be a long process to get going, but I am hopeful it can work, because there are a lot of Africans on the North Side, a lot of Hispanics, and as I am finding, most of the Anglos have Eastern KY roots, and “garden food” is always a favorite. But it’s not going to happen this summer.

But here’s what is going to happen: we are going to garden and bring some fresh produce into our mission night so that we can add the good nutrition to what we offer. I think I have a lot of gardeners in the church. We’re going to have some cooking and nutrition classes. And I have initial permission from the elementary school principal (he is an awesome dude) to use the property behind the school as a garden.

Then, yesterday (Feb 7), Will, Ryan, and I got to talking about some guys who are doing what is called Community Supported Agriculture. That is an idea where a small farm sells “shares,” and once a week brings in the produce to people who have bought the shares. So one fellow, for example, sells a share for $400, and that gets you one bushel basket of picked-that-day produce once a week for twenty consecutive weeks. The basic idea is that a community would be related to a particular small farm. Some of you who have read Wendell Berry’s stuff are familiar with this idea of connecting an urban area to a farm, so that the connection between food, eater, and farmer is a close one. It’s clear as day: it would be awesome if we could connect our community with a farm—connecting families to good food, how to prepare it, connecting urban kids to a farm (because a lot of the farmers love to have people come out and work).

So anyway, I’ll write more about how and why I got into this, why I know it works, and how some of y’all can get involved if you want to.

We met on a day when I was fasting (and there we were talking about food!). After they left, it was time to break the fast, so I sat down with some Scriptures. I usually read Psalm 6 in breaking a fast. And then I’ll just read whatever else comes to mind. Well, yesterday it was Psalm 65, “Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion.” The verses just jumped out at me: “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house” (65:4). I began to think of a great banquet in God’s house, where every one is sitting around, not just eating, but being together, totally satisfied with the all-encompassing goodness of God.

But at the same time, I was having a hard time feeling that; I was wondering, “what does this mean for Melissa?” We talked about it a little bit, and it was one of those moments where you realize you’ve been having the same thoughts about the same Scripture, but we were led there in different ways. The Scripture was Job 13:15. I got there because I was wondering about being drawn near to God’s courts and thinking it really wasn’t happening. Melissa got there because, well, she likes Job. We spent some time rejoicing that the Lord had given us the same Scripture.

And then, these words, a wonderful poem of God’s amazing, bountiful, simple provision:

You care for the land and water it;
You enrich it abundantly
The streams of God are filled with water
To provide the people with grain
For so you have ordained it
You drench its furrows and level its ridges,
You soften it with showers
And bless it crops (Psalm 65:9-10)

So indeed, how foolish is it that there is earth and sun and rain but right next door, some are hungry, lacking good food? That one’s on us, I’m afraid.

p/g,

Aaron