GROWING MORE THAN JUST FOOD
EDITION: FALL 2012
Every year we like to gather together with representatives from some of
the now 36 faith community and religious school gardens that have
blossomed in and all around Baltimore. From Parkton to Reisterstown to
Havre de Grace to Clarksville, this movement has taken off so quickly and
so well that our congregations and schools are now among the leaders in
community gardening, not just locally, but around the country, too.
When we hear the stories about how these gardens have served to bring
folks together, enabled seniors and others on fixed incomes to enjoy fresh
produce, provided kids a chance to discover the miracles inherent in
growing their own food—and how in the process they have kept caring for
God‘s creation central to all of this—we really do get tears in our eyes.
These wonderful people have given thousands of volunteer hours and
Priscilla Calvert from Arnolia United Methodist
grown thousands of pounds of food over the past five years. The amount
shares what they’ve done with their garden.
of time, energy, and love that is going into these gardens—be they big or
small—is incredible. We were so pleased to join with them around a common table in September, share a meal, and
express our gratitude for their often unsung good work. Our hats are off to them!! Check out who they are here.
A TRIBUTE TO ED MCNALLY
―The measure of a good life is not how long one lives, but how well they live.‖ This is what the priest at Saints Philip
and James Catholic Church told us as we gathered to say pay our respects at the funeral mass for our good friend and
Food & Faith Advisory Board member, Ed McNally, a couple of weeks ago. Ed had battled cancer for over a year and
was called home on October 20th. There is no doubt that he used his life in the best possible of ways, and for that we
can be happy for him. We are certainly grateful that he chose to share his talents with us, for we are all better for
having known him.
Ed was one of those Renaissance men who has done just about
everything. He was a priest, a lawyer, and also had an MBA. We met
when he was the Executive Director of the Franciscan Center, an
emergency food service provider in Baltimore, and he immediately
thought up a zillion ways that we could work together. He joined our
board and devised programs that would ensure that those in need not
only received food when they were hungry, but that the food was
nutritious and enjoyable. We wrote about this initiative on our website,
and Ed spoke about ―Food with Dignity‖ on WYPR back in 2010. It is
not an understatement to say that Ed was a force, and that saying ―no‖
to him was virtually impossible. His energy was contagious, his sense
of humor legendary, and his commitment and love for the poor made
us all want to be better people. Ed was one of Baltimore‘s visionaries, and both the city and our organization will
suffer from his loss. We will miss him terribly, and hope that he knows how much we appreciated him. We will do
our best to carry on where he left off and to make him proud.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation
4 E. University Parkway
Baltimore, MD 21218
Interested in how your congregation can use the
Good Food Toolkit? Keep your eyes open for a
training webinar due out in January!
Food & Faith knows the Episcopal Cathedral very well. We
often have workshops there, and our Advisory Board meets
quarterly in Conference Room C. It is a welcoming and
generous place with a focus on sustainability that is a
model for many congregations. Recently, the Cathedral’s
Creation Care Team decided to expand the church’s
greening efforts to its food environment. The Committee
shares with us just how they went about doing this:
―The Creation Care Team at the Cathedral of the
Incarnation has worked hard over the years to develop a
comprehensive and engaging plan for stewardship of God‘s
creation within the Cathedral buildings and as part of our
worship, formation, education, and outreach ministries.
This past year we have focused our programming efforts
primarily on issues related to food, namely food systems,
food justice, and food sustainability. We decided to do this
as a result of an exciting opportunity we had last fall to work with Food & Faith to pilot the new Good Food Toolkit prior
to its official launch. (The Toolkit allows congregations to assess the food they serve themselves, the food they donate to
others, how they teach and pray about food, and how they use their grounds in terms of food sustainability and justice.
After surveying their food environment, congregations complete a planning process that results in the development of an
Action Plan for putting healthier, more environmentally friendly food policies and practices into place.)
We met together as a team to go through the toolkit in its entirety and to formulate a plan.
To help us complete the assessment process (the questionnaire asks every question
imaginable about food within the congregation!), we had to enlist the help and input of
many individuals who play different roles related to food within the Cathedral. Just this
process in and of itself – asking those questions; gathering information from many different
people, including our clergy, parish leaders, and fellow members; and evaluating the food
practices within our church community – was extremely valuable. Completing this
assessment enabled us to identify our strengths and weaknesses as a congregation and begin
developing on a plan of action.
Working with our Cathedral leadership, we offered a four-part adult formation series, entitled ―Good Food, Faith and Social Justice‖, which began with a celebratory Creation Care
Sunday on Earth Day 2012. Through this series, which we structured according to the four
sections of the Toolkit (Eating Well, Donating Well, Teaching Well and Acting Well), we
were able to raise awareness about a wide range of issues related to food from a theological perspective and engage in
meaningful discussions with fellow members about how to improve the food practices within our community. Having a
dedicated ‗Creation Sunday‘ with liturgy celebrating God‘s great Earth, followed by a festive coffee hour offering
healthy and sustainable foods, was very exciting and well-received.
In addition to continuing to provide similar educational opportunities for both adults and youth within our church, the
Creation Care Team is working with the Outreach Team to encourage healthier food donations, and with the Parish Life
Team to make coffee hour and other events with food healthier and more environmentally-friendly. We are evaluating
the possibility of developing a Cathedral vegetable and/or cutting garden for altar flowers. Working with the Good Food
Toolkit has been a tremendously valuable and rewarding educational experience for our team and the entire Cathedral
community. We look forward to further implementing our action plan and encourage other congregations use and benefit
from the Toolkit, too!‖
FEAST YOUR MIND
Book Review: Art of the Inner Meal: Eating as a Spiritual Path, by D. Altman
―Eating with awareness brings us into the moment, helps us understand what it means to be
alive, and connects us to the mystery and the source of all living things," notes Emmy-Award
winning TV and documentary writer Donald Altman. With skill and grace, this former
Buddhist monk presents a variety of ways the world's religions have "elevated food into the
realm of the sacred." The book abounds with rituals, practices, and prayers designed to help us
see eating as a spiritual path.
Hindus have made the sharing of food into an act of great hospitality. Buddhists have much to
show us about eating moderately and viewing meals as part of the middle way. Jews have
found many avenues of holiness and meaning through food in their rituals for Sabbath and
religious holidays. Christians have made finding communion through food an essential element of faith. And Muslims
are teachers of transformation through fasting.
The art of the inner meal begins with respect and reverence for the good Earth. It flows through the joys of giving and
receiving. It enables us to become more conscious of all the blessings in our lives. And it tutors us in curbing our desires, eliminating bad habits, and moving beyond selfishness. At one point, Altman writes: "If prayer is the appetizer for
the spiritual meal, then mindfulness is the main course." After savoring all the delights in this enlightening work —
including a fine discussion of the Way of Tea — you'll feel empowered to establish a new regimen for eating in your
home. (Book review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat at Spirituality & Practice.com)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
A Celebration of Religious Environmental Action in Baltimore
Saturday, November 17, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Notre Dame of Maryland‘s Knott Science Center
4701 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21212
Please join Baltimore's diverse religious communities for an evening of fellowship and a renewing of our shared commitment
to care for the environment. Our friends at Interfaith Power & Light are expanding into all of Maryland to engage
congregations in saving energy, going green, and responding to climate change. Baltimore Food & Faith is pleased to be cosponsoring this event.
You'll hear from Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and an expert
reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She is an author,
with her husband—evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Farley—of "Climate for Change: Global Warming
Facts for Faith-Based Decisions," and has spoken extensively to religious communities about the moral
implications of climate change.
The evening will open with havdalah, a brief Jewish ceremony for concluding Shabbat; learn about
Baltimore's wealth of grassroots green initiatives during an expo and reception; hear an important update
about the science of what is happening to our world; learn more about all of the extraordinary ways that Baltimore faith
communities are striving to care for creation; and commit to working together to take action as people of faith.
A suggested donation of $5 at the door will help support Interfaith Power & Light's work to assist Baltimore congregations in
going green. Free with NDMU staff or student ID.
For more info, please visit Maryland & Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light‘s website. Click here to RSVP.
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Questions or comments, please e-mail us at [email protected], or call 410-502-5069.