Gardening began for me as a personal spiritual practice. Something about having my hands in the dirt grounded me. As I began getting more serious about it, I began seeing how food intersects many of the areas of justice, from race and immigration to ecology and wealth inequality. I saw that growing food was a way to effect change on a local level as well as a place to start conversations about larger systemic changes. When done well, gardening can be both a means of connecting to the Creator and to our neighbors.
“A friend, mother, lifelong partner to her husband, pastor, co-founder of her church, writer, community advocate, student, and follower of Jesus” is how the Rev. Jeff Eddings introduced his conversation partner, Leeann Younger, in Wednesday evening’s third installment of his seminar series The Way of Spiritual Fortitude. Presented by 1001 New Worshipping Communities, the online conversations are designed to help spiritual leaders develop the inner strength to perform the tasks of ministry.
Lent is a great time to focus more fully on our spiritual lives. For centuries, the church has encouraged us to give up something that brings us pleasure, so that we can be more in touch with Jesus’ self-denial. More recently, Christians have taken on new spiritual practices such as practicing intentional hospitality or reading the Scriptures more faithfully as a way of prioritizing God’s ways over our ways.
