This is something everyone should know about, and in a time when it is difficult for many to be compassionate, this effort is leading the way to be equitable and caring beyond themselves. And, at the end of this description is a link to the persons who helped make all this happen.
It is called Harvest Land Impact (Osage Nation)
“In Pawhuska, Oklahoma – right in the heart of a food desert – sits Harvest Land: 40,000 sq ft of greenhouse growing fresh produce year-round, plus orchards, chicken coops, and a 44,000 sq ft facility with aquaponics for 600 fish. This is what food sovereignty looks like.”
“But here’s what’s incredible: they’re not just feeding their tribe. The Harvest Land Mobile Market drives to towns with no grocery stores, no Dollar General, nothing – bringing fresh vegetables to places like Hominy, Wynona, and Bowring. 10,000 pounds of produce annually.”
“‘We are in a food desert, and we don’t just tend to the tribe, we tend to the community,’ says Director Dawn Wormington. The Osage Nation is literally growing their way out of food insecurity – and bringing their neighbors with them.”
Here is a link to an Oklahoma State University article about an individual associated as well with this project. Osage Nation – Harvest Impact
Thank you for feeding the hungry and helping so many who are underserved.
by Joy Harjo – (Muscogee/Creek Nation, 3rd term US Poet Laureate).
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time.
Remember sundown
and the giving away tonight.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
By Joy Harjo
(Muscogee/Creek Nation, 3rd term US Poet Laureate).
In honor of the legacy of Andrea Gibson, poet laureate of Colorado, who died of cancer this week, I offer the following quote and a poem of theirs:
“Before I die, I want to be somebody’s favorite hiding place, the place they can put everything they know they need to survive, every secret, every solitude, every nervous prayer, and be absolutely certain I will keep it safe. I will keep it safe.”
— WORD FOR THE DAY —To step into your power means to trust yourself, your instincts, and your intuition. To let the fear go and the shame and tell the stories which need to be told.SHARON BLACKIE
“The truth is that frightened people will never turn the world, because they use too much energy on protection of self. It is the vocation of the baptized, the known and named and unafraid, to make the world whole:
The unafraid are open to the neighbor, while the frightened are defending themselves from the neighbor.
The unafraid are generous in the community, while the frightened, in their anxiety, must keep and store and accumulate, to make themselves safe.
The unafraid commit acts of compassion and mercy, while the frightened do not notice those in need.
The unafraid are committed to justice for the weak and the poor, while the frightened see them only as threats.
The unafraid pray in the morning, care through the day, and rejoice at night in thanks and praise, while the frightened and endlessly restless and dissatisfied.
So, dear people, each of you: [As Jesus said] Do not fear! I have called you by name; you are mine!”
I’ve seen my kids wrestle with this so many times, they sit there and agonize whether to spend their precious money on one item or another. In particular with money, we ask them to really think about their decisions when choosing something to purchase—it has to be worth it to them to purchase that item, and get rid of another item they own. It’s a simple concept but one that reverberates throughout our lives every day.
I wish all the decisions we navigate, were as innocent as a child agonizing on how to spend their chore money—but our lives hold so many more layers than that. Our personal journeys are deeply complex, holding regular decisions we navigate everyday, along with ones we never in our wildest dreams thought we’d have to discern.
Every yes we move towards, also holds nos we’re moving away from.
My hope in offering this prayer to you today, is that it feels like a gentle companion for your own personal journey. I hope it’s a reminder that you are not behind in whatever you’re holding—you are right where God wants you to be. Whatever decision your life is staring at today, however heavy it is for your heart, whomever your choice will impact, no matter how the outcome with unfold—my hope for you is that you feel seen and care for by Jesus.
I wonder what prayer He is praying over you today?
What is His posture towards the feelings you have regarding this decision?
What I’ve learned over the years, is that making the decision isn’t the point. I’m hopeful for who God is forming me into each and every day as I navigate big and small decisions on my journey of life.
May you feel tenderly cared for in the hands of the One who created the world.
May you hold curiosity for what God may be inviting you into.
May you hold grace for yourself and others involved in this process.
A Prayer For Making a Decision
Oh God, you are sovereign over all. You hold the whole world in the tender palm of your hands.
How my heart wishes I had an all knowing knowledge right now.
As I stare down the roads before me, the unknown is really scary.
Fear grips my heart.
Questions cloud my judgment.
Everything that could go wrong, is telling me that it will.
///
God, my head knows that a choice has to be made soon, but my heart is torn.
There is no right or wrong answer.
There is no black or white solution.
Some days, all the roads I could walk down hold hope.
Some days, all the roads I see in front of me bring terror rising in my gut.
Where is your hand moving?
Where is your guidance evident?
Where is your love weaving and working?
///
The grey mystery of what will come will not be unclouded before I have to take a step.
Oh God, invite me into more of who You are in this process.
As I take a step, hold me all the more tightly.
Remind me, that the presence of Jesus is hemming me in on all sides.
Remind me, that I am tenderly cupped in your hands—and you made the world.
Remind me, that if you care for the birds I see each day, I know you will take care of me.
Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church 