Our worship service this Sunday is going to celebrate God’s good creation and invite us to reflect on our role in being good stewards of that creation. What better way to understand the connection between our faith and our care for the Earth than to have David Dumaresq–“Farmer Dave”, our Community Supported Agriculture provider–reflect with us on his journey from being a philosophy major at St. Anselm’s College to being a Peace Corps member working with Ecuadorian farmers, returning to the States and being invited by a farmer’s family to take over the farm (where Dave once worked) after the death of the farmer, to working as an advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, back to the States, later on with US AID to Ethiopia, establishing a CSA in Massachusetts, and so on and so on.
I had a wide ranging conversation with Dave last week, and it was remarkable how concepts such as answering the call, using one’s gifts, “coincidences” (“God’s way of remaining anonymous” as the saying goes), and being given a gift for a reason–all good, solid words we often use in church–came up. Add to that a strong sense that Dave has of being a good steward of the land and not abusing it provides lots of “food for thought”.
Our scriptures will be drawn from Psalm 8 and Psalm 104, as well as the Genesis account of the sixth day, where God gives Adam and Eve the responsibility for the earth: “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food… .I have given every green plant for food.”
So, Farmer Dave and Pastor Mike will have a dialogue during the Sermon time, and Dave will also be available at Fellowship Time for conversation and follow up questions. I hope you can join us on Sunday as we celebrate Earth Day (four days late) and commit ourselves to being good stewards of the precious gift we have been given.
Presbyterian Church in Burlington 