Dear Ones,
I am pleased to share the news that St. Martin’s has received a generous $5,000 Episcopal Community Services grant based on an application entitled “Land-Based Ministry: Growing a More Equitable, Participatory, and Inclusive Community.” Land-based ministry considers the land on which we live, work, and worship to be a key component of the church’s mission of reconciliation and justice. By “the land” we mean not only our geographic location but also its history, uses, original inhabitants, ecosystem health, and environmental threats.
The grant application was put together by Juliette Beck, Pamela Dolan, Alessa Johns, and Ann Liu, in collaboration with the Care for God’s Creation Committee. Maria Acuna-Feldman is serving as our liaison to Episcopal Community Services.
One component part of the project we envision is an education series called “Seeds of Justice” that builds on the work several of us did last year through the Episcopal Church’s Sacred Ground Circles. In the words of our application, we felt it important to “understand the racialized history of our land, develop empathy for those who have experienced injustices by providing them opportunities to tell their stories, and allow for open discussion of ideas.”
The first event in the series is happening soon! Please join us on Sunday, September 12, for a talk with Diana Almendariz entitled “Wintun Homeland Stewardship – Stories of Native Ancestors.”
Diana Alemendariz is a cultural practitioner of Maidu/Wintun, Hupa/Yurok descendant, traditions and cultural experience. She was born into a family culturally led by a full-blooded California Indian grandmother who was half Maidu and half Wintun of the greater Northern California Sacramento Valley. Diana was raised in a westernized city, yet blessed with a grandmother who remembered the Sacramento Valley’s environment for the treasure it was. Her ideas of teaching with a cultural emphasis of stewardship of the environment were encouraged by the memories, thoughts and stories of her ancestors. Join us and learn about a true homeland person’s life of awareness.
More information about this event will be coming soon, so please save the date! The plan is for this to be offered on Zoom, with the choice to view it in real time at St. Martin’s or to participate from home.
In addition to the education series, we will be working on introducing activities and practices that cultivate and enrich both the soil and the community. The goals of the program we envision are in keeping with three of the primary mission priorities of the Episcopal Church: racial reconciliation, evangelism, and creation care. If you would like to learn more, and become part of developing this effort, please contact one of the committee members mentioned above or contact the office so Natalie can forward your information on to us.
Blessings,
Pamela+