The Center for Environmental Transformation
August 21, 2011*
Hello all!
Last week at Sacred Heart Church we celebrated the feast of the Assumption. In the Roman Catholic tradition, this feast day celebrates the fact that when Mary, the mother of Jesus, died, she was taken directly into heaven. It is a feast day that reminds us of the destiny that awaits all those who remain on the side of hope in the journey of life and death. This feast day, as Sacred Heart, coincides with the annual Women’s Rising Retreat, a day long event at which women gather to share faith and hope and strength on their journeys of the spirit. At the Eucharistic celebration on this weekend, everyone and everything, receives garlands, boutonnieres, bracelets and necklaces made of marigolds. Why marigolds? Well, marigolds are also known as Mary’s Gold. Many of the marigolds that graced the throats, wrists, heads and hearts of those who gathered last Sunday were grown in Eve’s Garden, the heart of the Center for Environmental Transformation. The seeds for the marigolds that grew this summer were harvested from last year’s marigolds, and they were blessed on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, another feast day in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It all comes full circle. On the day that Mary made her entrance into her mother’s womb, we bless seeds that will come to fruition on the day when we celebrate the culmination of Mary’s fidelity to her God, her entrance into everlasting peace.
Why this talk about marigolds, and Mary, and Eve’s Garden? I’ve been thinking of rituals. What occurs with the seeds for the marigolds that are used on the feast of the Assumption is a ritual, and it has repeated itself for a good 15 years now. The ritual gathers distinct moments in time, distinct places, and weaves them together into a story that shapes how we understand ourselves and our place in life. Nature has always been the source of most of our rituals. The rising of the sun, and its setting, provide a framework, and a repetitive one at that, for each day. The seasons in this hemisphere, and at this latitude, provide another framework, around which farmers, in particular, have shaped their lives. August always marks a time when the days are noticeably shorter, with sunset coming far too soon for the liking. The harvest begins to come in with great abundance, signally the approach of autumn and the cold of winter. It happens each year, that the earth brings forth its abundance, that children are born and people die, that summer comes to an end, and Mary’s Gold once again adorns the bodies of those who gather in Waterfront South in Camden, NJ on or about the 15th of August.
We do need to tend to our rituals, particularly those that are rooted in nature. In some places on this earth, for thousands of years the earth produced its abundance in food. Now, today, that same earth produces nothing, and its potential has been destroyed: Ethiopia and Nigeria are losing productive land to famine and the creep of the Sahara Desert, respectively; the countries of the Middle East are depleting their aquifers, and now must import most of their grain; as the polar ice caps melt, the lowlands of Southeast Asia, source of the world’s largest supply of rice, will increasingly disappear; and in China, the Gobi Desert continues to encroach on the western lands of that, the world’s most populous country, robbing them of fertile soil.
We do well to attend to nature’s rituals, and to the quality of our own cooperation in the unfolding of those rituals. Fidelity to nature’s rhythms/rituals/cycles may well be the marker of those who share in the wealth of Mary’s Gold.
May God bless you all!
Mark Doorley, Ph.D.
President, Board of Trustees
News and Notes
1. September Work Day: Join us on Saturday, September 3, 2011 from 9AM til Noon. We will be working in the garden, harvesting some of the earth’s abundance. If you can join us, bring some drinking water, gloves if you have them, and your energy. Meet Andrea at 912 Jasper Street, the entrance to Eve’s Garden. Let her know if you’re coming. aferich@gmail.com 2. SAVE THE DATE! On Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 7:30PM, Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia, and of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, will give the third annual Thomas Berry Lecture at Sacred Heart Church in Camden, NJ. The title of Judy’s talk is “Local Living Economies: Green, Fair & Fun.” Tickets are $10. Please put this date on your calendar and plan to join us. At 6PM in the Center, there will be a Meet & Greet with Judy Wicks, with refreshments. The cost of this additional event is $50 (a ticket to the lecture included). Space is limited! There are opportunities for individuals and businesses to sponsor this event at various levels. For more information on the event and/or sponsorships, write to camdencfet@gmail.com. You can purchase tickets on our website. There is a flyer for the event attached to this email. Please forward it to people you think might be interested in joining Judy for what will be an enjoyable evening. 3. The Center, through Andrea Ferich’s guidance, has created a Native Plant Nursery, in partnership with the Camden County Municipal Authority. On a plot on the CCMUA campus in Waterfront South, Andrea has planted over 1,000 plugs of plants native to Southern New Jersey. These plants will be used in the many rain water gardens that will be created throughout Camden. This is part of the Camden SMART Initiative that began in earnest this past summer. A significant fruit of these efforts is the large rain water garden created on the corner of S. Broadway and Chelten Ave., in Waterfront South. An abandoned gasoline station was demolished, the land cleaned up, and a beautiful rain garden established. To read about the July 27th dedication, visit this site. 4. On Thursday, September 15th, from 7-9PM, at the Cherry Hill Library on King’s Highway, there will be a screening of the film: “CRUDE: The Real Price of Oil.” This event is co-sponsored by the library, Sustainable Cherry Hill and the NJ Council for the Humanities. Put this on your calendar. The film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by a local scholar. FYI: Chevron is using the US courts to shut down the director of this movie, Joe Berlinger. Makes one wonder…
