2011 Seminary Network Meeting Day 1 - Austin

One of the areas of church engagement of Episcopal Relief & Development is their Abundant Life Garden Project.  Brian Sellers-Peterson uses this program to illustrate how much a community garden in America looks like a community garden in the developing world.  As a suggestion he told us that we could grow vegetables at every parish, convent, monastery, and seminary.  Even if these vegetables are grown in container gardens, it is still plausible that we could produce food.

Right now, CDSP is trying to re-imagine what community looks like, how we can make on campus student meals more affordable, and how to better use the physical resources and real estate.  It should be no surprise that I think we should frame these imaginings within a framework of incarnating our baptismal covenant through stewardship of the environment.  With that in mind I would ask CDSP doesn't dig up our the grass on campus?  Can't we rid ourselves of the lawnmowers and take up spades.  Why can't the community build itself around growing our life together through the soil.  We have the distinct pleasure of living an area where the weather is conducive to growing all year long.

Perhaps we can integrate the kitchen area, already present in the common area, into a sustainable cafe.  A business project that would draw people from the campus and neighborhood.  We can display our dedication to humanitarian work of environmental justice by using food grown on campus and locally, compostable flat ware, taking serious advantage of the resources that faith provides us in an immense love of food.  As an aside, even Texas A&M has a sustainable cafe - if the Texans can commit to that, why can't we in the heart of Berkeley commit to it?

Maybe it is time to make a radical change in how we imagine ourselves in community.  Cancel our contract with PSR food services and make it a student responsibility.  We could hire a full time gardener who can also provide permaculture education.  We could be a model of urban eco-justice work and provide more than just meeting and classroom space for the community.  We can provide insights into how our faith informs relationships with the environment and our neighbors.



We can even raise awareness of Episcopal Relief & Development by integrating their educational curriculum.  Is it that easy?  No, of course not.  However, I think the work is worth the effort.

-Jonathan Potter