The Honorable Harvest
A service at Thanksgiving time about our relationships with the food we harvest – based on the teachings and stories in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book “Braiding Sweetgrass.”
Greeting and Announcements
Good morning. Welcome to the _______ Unitarian Universalist Congregation where we join together in the search for deeper meaning and richer connections. Our stories all come from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book “Braiding Sweetgrass,” and are adapted into this worship service by Rev. Douglas Taylor
Passing the Peace
Prelude
Opening Words by Shari Woodbury
This opening was written for two voices, as indicated below.
1: Welcome, who come in friendship
who long for genuine community…
2: May you be graciously received here
as your authentic self.
1: Welcome, who come in curiosity,
full of questions or simply open…
2: May you embrace wonder
and encounter new delights.
1: Welcome, who come heavy with fatigue,
weary from the troubles of the world
or the troubles of your particular life…
2: May you rest and be filled in this sacred space.
1: Welcome, who come with joy
for flowing rivers and gentle breeze,
for changing skies and great trees…
2: May the grace of the world
leave a lasting imprint in you.
1: Welcome, who come with thanks
for the altruism of the earth
and the gift of human care…
2: May your grateful heart overflow
and bless those around you.
BOTH: Come, let us celebrate together
this wondrous life.
*Doxology (#381 SLT) Composite based on Isaac Watts
From all that dwell below the skies
Let songs of hope and faith arise
Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung
Through every land, by every tongue
Covenant (#381 SLT) by James Vila Blake (adapted)
Love is the spirit of this congregation
And service is its life
This is our great covenant;
To dwell together in peace,
To seek the truth in love,
And to help one another.
Chalice Lighting by Katie Gelfand
We light our chalice as a symbol of gratitude
as we celebrate the abundance of our lives together.
In this sanctuary we harvest bushels of strength for one another,
and offer our crop with the hands of compassion and generosity.
In the authentic and gentle manner of our connections,
we cultivate a simple sweetness to brighten our spirits.
May we be grateful for the ways we nourish and uplift each other,
For it is the sharing of this hallowed time together that sustains us.
Opening Hymn (#21, SLT) For the Beauty of the Earth
Story Part One “The Honorable Harvest” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
(Three roles – Narrator, William, and Robin. William and Robin act out greeting, Robin acts out poling and knocking rice, William acts out sketching and showing, Robin acts out listening.)
Narrator: William was a young student from Europe who was studying to be an engineer. One day, near the end of Summer, he traveled to visit a friend Robin in Minnesota. Robin was part of an Anishinaabe family and they practiced the traditional rice gathering practice from many generations back. William was eager to experience a bit of Native American culture.
William: “The family rose early before the sun, and we went out for the day’s work. Dawn found us all out on the lake in canoes. They taught me to pole our way carefully through the rice beds, knocking the ripe seed into the canoe. It was hard work. But it did not take long for us to collect quite a bit of rice.”
Narrator: At the end of the day, William wanted to thank the family for including him in the day’s work, to show his appreciation. The next morning, he showed them a sketch of a grain capturing system he had designed. As an engineer, he felt he could easily build this device and attach it to the gunwales of their canoes.
William: “You can continue to gather the rice as you have been doing for generations. I know that is important. But your way is not efficient. Yesterday, I saw that at least half the rice just fell into the water. It is such a waste. With my technique, you could get 85 percent more rice for your efforts.”
Narrator: His hosts listened respectfully, then Robin’s grandfather spoke up. “Let me tell you a story.”
Prayer by Douglas Taylor
Eternal Spirit, from whom all things come
and to whom all things return.
We gather in gratitude this day
We gather as children of the earth,
joined together in a bond of respect and connection.
We lift our hearts and our voices in both grief and gratitude
We share our grief for the ways our mother earth has been dishonored and destroyed,
for the ways the connection has been severed,
for the ways we are alienated from our home.
We pray for healing and for a turning
and for strength to again flow between the land and the people.
We share of gratitude for the ways we discover and rediscover
our connection and wholeness each day.
We share our gratitude for our place in the circle,
for the sharing and for the light.
We share our gratitude for all the earth offers us,
for the gifts of sun and soil,
of life and the nourishing spirit.
As we wind our way into our culture’s celebration of Thanksgiving, O spirit,
may we learn to lean in to our gratitude for the land
and the plentiful nourishment it can provide.
May be uncover and honorable harvest this season.
May we help keep the balance of living
and give thanks for all we have been given.
In the name of all that is holy,
May it be so.
Silence
Meditative Hymn (#123, STL) Spirit of Life
Story Part Two “The Honorable Harvest” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
(Narrated by one and acted out by two others, Nanbosho has a stick ‘fishing pole’ and Heron uses hands like a beak to spear fish. Later, Fox uses hands to show ears)
Our hosts listened respectfully to their guest, then Robin’s grandfather spoke up. “Let me tell you a story.” Here is the story she told:
Anishinaabe elder Basil Johnston tells of the time our teacher Nanabozho was fishing in the lake for supper, as he often did, with hook and line. Heron came striding along through the reeds on his long, bent legs, his beak like a spear. Heron is a good fisherman and a sharing friend, so he told Nanabozho about a new way to fish that would make his life much easier. Heron cautioned him to be careful not to take too many fish, but Nanabozho was already thinking of a feast. He went out early the next day and soon had a whole basketful of fish, so heavy he could barely carry it and far more than he could eat. So he cleaned all those fish and set them out to dry on the racks outside his lodge. The next day, with his belly still full, he went back to the lake and again did what Heron had showed him. “Aah,” he thought as he carried home the fish, “I will have plenty to eat this winter.”
Day after day he stuffed himself and, as the lake grew empty, his drying racks grew full, sending out a delicious smell into the forest where Fox was licking his lips. Again, he went to the lake, so proud of himself. But that day his nets came up empty and Heron looked down on him as he flew over the lake with a critical eye. When Nanabozho got home to his lodge, he learned a key rule—never take more than you need. The racks of fish were toppled in the dirt and every bite was gone.
Reflection How we Honor the Harvest
by Douglas Taylor, Andrea Lerner, and Dylan Cooke
Taylor
Our stories this morning are all adapted from the book “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer from 2013. The subtitle is “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.” Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology. At the intersection of those to aspects of her life, she reveals the wisdom of sustainability as something both modern and ancient.
As the season turns once more to the time of harvest and our country’s holiday of thanksgiving. I invite us into the wisdom and wondering that Kimmerer’s book offers. She writes about our needing to see ourselves as a part of our ecosystem. That we should not merely take, but instead both give and take. As heterotrophs, we do not photosynthesize our own energy. Our role is to consume, to exchange a life for a life.
Kimmerer asks
“How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again? I know we cannot all become hunter-gatherers- the living world could not bear our weight- but even in a market economy, can we behave ‘as if’ the living world were a gift?” [p. 31]
Do you have a story of how you’ve grown or foraged or hunted your own food? Are you a part of your ecosystem and the give and take that is needed as you consume? As you sit down for a Thanksgiving meal, can you note where the various foods came from and how they came to your table?
—
Cooke
“For much of my life, I have had access to fresh grown foods. For instance every year my family has a garden that always at least has something growing in it or my first job was working on a vegetable farm. For this I am thankful as it has given me a very open perspective to the benefits of eating food produced in this manner and as a kid it gave me the opportunity to enjoy vegetables that many others my age never got the opportunity to experience or learn to enjoy.
Another place I ended up being involved with food was my grandfather’s old garden. It was a project of his to grow some food for himself, an endeavor which lasted a handful years. Over time he began to downsize it as the work began to outweigh the benefit to himself. Year after year it began to shrink until there was only one bed left that happened to be full of asparagus. For him the time had come to let this final part of the garden go. As he requested, I mowed over the area as I had with the previous garden beds leaving his yard garden-less or so we thought. The thing some of you might not know about asparagus is that once it is left untouched for its first two years it begins to be self-sufficient making it become super resilient. This meaning to this day year after year that asparagus pokes its way out of the ground showing exactly where the bed was and during its most active time of the season, even while mowing over it weekly there are enough stems to make a dinner side out of each week.
The resilience of asparagus is definitely something to admire and just one of many examples that if nature is not pushed past its breaking point it will continue to provide.”
—
Taylor
Dylan reminded me as we were preparing for this service of that favorite Dr. Suess quote from the Lorax. “Unless! Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” The path to a better world is for people to care. The path to caring is being connected, being interconnected and familiar with the world.
—
Lerner
I grew up the youngest of eight children to parents in NW Pennsylvania who grew up during the depression and experienced food rationing in World War II. We had a stove with 8 burners, two ovens, a griddle and a broiler. It’s not surprising that, having to feed all of us, they were experienced in gardening, foraging, fishing, hunting, bee keeping, and raising chickens and other fowl.
Some of my favorite memories are walking along the trails in the woods near our home picking raspberries, blackberries and blueberries with my Dad. Along the way we’d sometimes find mushrooms to bring home for dinner. He knew which ones were safe and which were not.
My mother loved to grow vegetables that seemed unusual to me. I’m still not sure what salsify is, but it sounded exotic. She grew brussel sprouts long before I ever saw one at the grocery. I wasn’t much for weeding, but I loved the harvest, and learned to freeze and can produce for the winters. We were always taught not to waste food, or anything for that matter – we’d hear, “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
I remember holidays that were packed with people cooking and baking and sharing stories, and I’ve tried to pass down the wisdom and love to our children. They are all excellent cooks, and one is a professional chef. Our holidays continue the loving traditions of our ancestors.
Many of you know about John Murray, an early Universalist in this country, who landed in Good Luck NJ near the home of Thomas Potter. The Murray Grove Retreat and Conference Center is still on this property, and is a favorite place for many UUs to retreat and relax. One fall, I noticed that the wild concord grapes that grow around the pool had a bumper crop of grapes. My foraging genes kicked in, and a few grocery bags later, I was on my way home to make jelly. No Hell Jell, we called it, and I donated most back to Murray Grove as a fundraiser.
I’ve been following along with the lives of some youth leaders from my time with the UUA Metro NY District, now adults. Of course, many of them are in the helping professions, and I’m delighted that more than the average number of them turned to occupations in sustainable agriculture – like
Katie who was farm manager at John Hart Farms, a family-run working farm that offers resources and information to growers at any agricultural scale—from families looking to raise a few chickens, to industrial-sized operations.
Kassandra in Colorado at FrontLine Farming, a food and farmers advocacy group focusing on food growing, education, sovereignty, and justice.
And Tobin in Mass, working with Book and Plow Farm, associated with Amherst College. They provide high quality vegetables and nourishing education that feed the local community in sustainable ways.
Watching these youth and my own children grow into caring and nurturing adults really gives me hope for the future.
—
Taylor
For my part, I can only witness to the blessing and abundance of the earth. I am not an attentive gardener. I have many examples I could share of herbs and vegetables under my care that did not make it. The farmers’ fields from my youth were a fertile land for my imagination, but I never actually paid attention to the food that was growing there as well. I am a child of the supermarkets and restaurants. Kimmerer’s question drives right to heart of my own living. Perhaps it is different for you. I welcome you to call your own story to mind.
Kimmerer asks
“How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again? I know we cannot all become hunter-gatherers- the living world could not bear our weight- but even in a market economy, can we behave ‘as if’ the living world were a gift?” [p. 31]
In a world without end,
May it be so.
—
Joys and Sorrows
Offering / Offertory
Reading “Guidelines for an Honorable Harvest” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Introduction: The guidelines for the Honorable Harvest are not written down, or even consistently spoken of as a whole—they are reinforced in small acts of daily life. But if you were to list them, they might look something like this:
Voice 1: Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Voice 2: Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Congregational response: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
1: Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
2: Never take the first. Never take the last.
Cong: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
1: Take only what you need.
2: Take only that which is given.
Cong: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
1: Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
2: Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Cong: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
1: Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
2: Share.
Cong: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
1: Give thanks for what you have been given.
2: Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Cong: Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
From Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer; p 183
—
Story Part Three “The Honorable Harvest” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Two roles: narrator, Aunt
Narrator: Finishing her story of Nanbozho and the heron, the elder smiled at their guest for a moment and returned to braiding the sweetgrass basket she had been working on. Another member of the family, Robin’s aunt, spoke up.
Aunt: “We know that to over-harvest would destroy the ecosystem. Our traditional ecological knowledge has many prescriptions for sustainability. Our science and our philosophy teach us this. We have many stories that teach us this. You do not have such stories where you come from.”
Narrator: And it was true. William could not think of any stories from his people that cautioned against overconsumption, that taught people about sustainability. Robin’s Aunt continued.
Aunt: “We do not harvest the rice in the traditional way because we don’t know any better. We keep to the old practices because they help restore balance, they keep us in the circle. We could get more rice using your technique. It is thoughtful of you to offer us your knowledge. But the rest of the rice is not for us. It’s got to seed itself for next year. And what we leave behind is not wasted. We’re not the only ones who like rice. Did you notice the abundance of wildlife around the lake? It will be duck season soon. Do you think the ducks would stop here if we took all the rice every year? Our teachings tell us to never take more than half.”
Apple Sharing
On the front table there are dozens of apples in baskets – enough for everyone and more.
I welcome you into our Apple harvest sharing. These apples have come from the land less than ten miles north of where we now gather. Up at Apple Hill Farms, where the orchards grow, six generations have tended the farm. These apples are Crispin, Ida Red, and Macoun. They are local and if you choose, after eating your apple you may try growing your own tree from the seeds for such things are possible with the right knowledge and care and attention.
In a moment, I will invite those of you here in person to come forward and select an apple to take with you. If you are online, we will likely have several apple remaining that we will keep in the lobby. If you come by Monday or Tuesday this week, morning or early afternoon, you may come by and have an apple for yourself as well. This offering is meant for everyone. The earth and the trees have brought this good fruit forth. We are recipients of the bounty. And it signals our connection and our place in the balance of things.
Consider it a communion, a sign of our connection with the land and with the Spirit and with each other. As you eat your apple, know that others are also eating their apples – apples which all came from the same trees in the orchard there up the hill less than ten miles to the north. The sun and soil and rain and breezes that nourished your apple did so for all these apples. And now these apples nourish us and the circle continues.
Come, let us partake of the blessed bounty of the land.
Interlude
Affirmation by Amy Kindred
Of all the gifts in all the world,
for love we are grateful.
Of all the gifts in all the world,
for helping hands we are grateful.
Of all the gifts in all the world,
for food [from the good earth] we are grateful.
May we remember that the best gifts don’t arrive wrapped in paper or bows.
For love, helping hands, food [from the good earth] and so much more
We are grateful.
Amen and May it be so.
Closing Hymn (#1010, STJ) We Give Thanks
Chalice Extinguishing (#456 SLT) (unison) by Elizabeth S. Jones
We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth,
The warmth of community, or the fire of commitment.
These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction by Susan Karlson
We leave blessed by our connections to one another, to the spirit of life.
Walk lightly that you see the life that is below your feet.
Spread your arms as if you had wings and could dance through the air.
Feel the joy of the breath in your lungs and the fire in your heart.
Live to love and be a blessing on this earth
Postlude
Rev. Douglas Taylor 