land (
www.peacewayland.org). T e church is all about the environment: installing solar panels for energy; maintaining memorial and butterfl y gardens; and hosting seminarian Anna Mullen, who is studying envi- ronmental ethics, eco-theologies and sustainable communities. T e congregation even worships
outside to bless the gardens and cel- ebrate the changing of the seasons. “We’re a congregation willing to
not only open our doors to other people but open ourselves to the natural world,” he said. “We’re in a natural setting so we want to be neighbors with the earth; to be in touch with living things in untradi- tional ways.” T e confi rmation project involves
a local organic farmer, who provides plants and garden guidance. For Lent, the students planted seeds that will be moved to the garden when the weather warms up. Last year the class harvested
pumpkins, squash and sunfl ow- ers so tall that passers-by stopped and commented. T e harvest was donated to Florence House, Lutheran Social Services of New England’s home for teenage moth- ers in Worcester, Mass. And the sunfl ower seeds fed the birds. “I liked being outside because
it’s nice to get fresh air and we had something to do while listening,” said student Leah Scheidemantel. “It was diff erent. It was fun to hear nature sounds like birds while we learned about our religion.” In winter months and when the
weather is bad, the students attend class indoors. “Outside there’s not a lot of discussion, but they hear the words of our faith as they work in the garden,” Johnson said. “Better than sitting at a desk, and it brings stewardship of creation in connec- tion with the word.”
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May 2014 35
Johnson chooses some texts
based on creation and tries to have the students associate their Lutheran faith with the world. T is goal is met by going on fi eld trips to organic farms, walking on conservation land and reading from the Bible. “It’s God’s world, so taking care
of the ground is part of our steward- ship of the places where we live and the lessons to learn from growing a garden, lessons about resurrection. Jesus taught about the wheat fi elds and the lilies, and being outside helps us to be in relationship with a broader, wider world, not only with people but with other living things.” Kim Canning, Sunday school
coordinator, is among the volunteers who read the Bible and catechism lessons to the students. Her fi rst realization: “How long it had been since I’d read any of the catechism.” “[Reading outside] felt stilted and
formal relative to our natural sur- roundings,” she admitted. “I thought the distractions of the outdoors, the sounds and vastness of our envi- ronment would prove diffi cult to compete with.” But as she continued to read,
“those elements and concerns dropped away,” she added. Since the students’ “minds and
hands are simultaneously engaged in doing God’s work,” Canning thinks they receive and absorb the words in a new way.
Author bio: Healy is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y., and author of Life is Too Short: Stories of Trans-
formation & Renewal After 9/11. Celebrate the call to serve Save on Gaspard handcrafted vestments & paraments
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