Faithful Planting: Faithful Planting: Approachable Conversations about Gardening and Faith

This work came about as a final project for a Laity Academy sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. The cohort in this group spent several weekends in retreat together listening to a wide variety of voices who gathered with us to present and discuss ways to move forward from a time of uncertainty of coming back from Covid and finding ways to move forward because of the changes in society which made church seem to be unnecessary in today's society. These speakers challenged us to think outside of our predetermined (and often comfortable!) boxes to see the world through different eyes, eyes that may not have always recognized or understood the need for leadership. We were challenged to go out and change the part of the world that we lived and worked in. As I pondered what to do for my project, I realized that I had two great passions, writing and gardening, and those two passions became the basis of this work. I am not a horticulturist or even a certified master gardener. What I bring to this gardening portion of this book is over 45 years of experience, experiments, failures, successes, and joys found in working the dirt and tending the plants of a garden. Also, I am not a theologian and do not pretend to be. What I can claim is the saving grace of Jesus Christ and a lifetime of working out my faith, sometimes in stumbles, sometimes by racing ahead, but always with my eyes on the amazing love of my God. My thoughts on my faith path are my experience. Your mileage may differ and that is OK. As you read this, your experiences may be different, and you may disagree with my assertions, methods, or comments. This book is meant to open conversations and the sharing of ideas and self. Different points of view are not evil, nor should they be avoided. Let us open the conversation. Our world is so very fractured. We have found ourselves in a society where a person always is judged as an "either/or" with no shades in between. It is past time for us to approach one another to begin finding common ground with which we can begin to see each other as individuals and not as labels. I have found that where there are people who plant, the conversation usually flows easily. Gardening may have fences out of necessity, but gardening also breaks down walls. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed getting my thoughts down on paper. Read more