In June 2021 St. Martin’s 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.” In June 2022 we received a second $5000 grant to allow us to continue what we started in 2021.
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.
One component of the project is an education series called “Seeds of Justice” that builds on the work we’ve been doing 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 goals of our Land Based Ministry are in keeping with three of the primary mission priorities of the Episcopal Church: racial reconciliation, evangelism, and creation care. As such, in addition to the education series, we will continue to introduce activities and practices that cultivate and enrich both the soil and the community.
Seeds of Justice is a part of Care for God’s Creation, an arm of our Church in the World ministry.
The Seeds of Justice Series is funded by a grant from Episcopal Community Services. Thanks also to our partners at Yolo Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice and the Yolo Climate Emergency Coalition.
RESOURCES FROM ST. MARTIN’S
RESOURCES FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Please go to this site to view resources provided by the Episcopal Church, including:
The Episcopal Church Exposes the Doctrine of Discovery
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Native Voices: A Response to The Episcopal Church’s History with Indian Boarding Schools: On October 11, 2021, Indigenous People’s Day, The Episcopal Church hosted a panel discussion with Indigenous Episcopalians as they responded to a statement on Indigenous boarding schools issued by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President Gay Jennings. A moderated Q&A follows the panel.
Report from Standing Rock: Miriam Casey describes the ecumenical gathering at Standing Rock, November 3, 2016, where there was public repudiation of the Doctrine by the Episcopal Church and many other faith communities. 3 Standing Rock.MOV
MUSIC
BOOK and VIDEO RECOMMENDATIONS
Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources
Dr. M. Kat Anderson, Dept. of Plant Sciences and
Associate Ecologist at the Agricultural Experimental Station at UC Davis
An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, American Book Award Recipient, 2015
Recommended by Presiding Bishop’s Canon Stephanie Spellers in her book, The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community
American Republics, A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850 by Alan Taylor. Note especially pages 1-16 in the Introduction and the chapter on race, pages 150-198. Explore further his discussion of saying ‘No’ to Manifest Destiny.
Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. Chang. Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities. Ph.D, Stanford. Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
“The Black Church: This Is Our Story, These Are Our Songs” on PBS and Amazon Prime. 4 hours. The host, Henry Louis Gates, Jr, chronicles the rich history of an institution at the heart of the African American experience on this land. Preview:
CALIFORNIA RELATED RESOURCES
Plague at the Golden Gate, produced by PBS. “Discover how an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco. This new documentary tells the gripping story of the race against time by health officials to save the city from the deadly disease.”
https://www.pbs.org/video/plague-at-the-golden-gate-dhdrto/
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
https://www.thecjm.org/learn_resources/716 — “My Golem as a Wildland Firefighter” and “Prayer for Burnt Forests – Julie Weitz — The Contemporary Jewish Museum through December 5, 2021
A Prayer for Burnt Forests by Rabbi Zach Fredman and Julie Weitz
Currents, a free community newspaper , covers local and national issues and events affecting the Asian American Pacific Island communities of Sacramento and Yolo Counties. You have access digitally online under “Community Engagement.” www.APSEA.org-Community Engagement
