Newsletter

Along with Zac and Kristi Bowman Cooke, who ably managed The Hermitage during David and Naomi Wenger’s sabbatical this summer, we were blessed by the generous support of a bevy of volunteers. Beginning in July with Mary, Karl and Mary Lynne Herr, followed by Marty Suter and John Martens. Jay and Barbara Budde, gardeners extraordinaire, bridged from July to August followed by Mary Asmonga Knapp. Marty Suter returned for a short stint and Mary Knapp also came back for another week toward the end of September. Biff Weidman and Margie Pfeil hosted the Jam Workday and the Feast of the Transfiguration in August. We are truly grateful for the hard work of each of these folks who made the work lighter for the Bowman-Cookes and kept a way and a place for all to pray.

Giving Thanks Work Day

Saturday, November 5 from 9-5.

You are invited to join the Ecosystems Discernment Committee in preparing the land for winter and giving thanks for the bounty of the Earth. There will be several outdoor projects to match all skill and energy levels. Rake leaves, spread compost, lay out a new garden expansion, cut away invasive shrubs, or clear away dead brush. The day will begin with prayer, include a harvest potluck for lunch, and end with Thanksgiving vespers. We will meet, rain or shine, so come prepared for the weather. In case of a downpour, there will be indoor tasks to attend. Come see the beauty of The Hermitage as it is going into the dormant state for winter rest. What kind of beauty can you find? What work will you do to help support the land in this season?

In 2011 when we heard of the pipeline expansion/replacement planned by Enbridge Corporation across The Hermitage land, we did not foresee what this incursion would bring to our attention and how we would respond. Looking back on the past four years, we have been radically changed in how we see the land and in how we live on it. We began to respond by holding a Service of Lament on the Pipeline on Holy Saturday 2012. The vision to make a difference in the way we think about and use energy at The Hermitage grew out of that Lament. We decided to rename the pipeline ”the prairie” symbolizing our hope that this land will not always be used to transport oil and gas, but, someday it will simply be a natural ecosystem. After the pipeline construction was complete, we planted prairie grasses and wildflowers to solidify our commitment to this vision.

Next, we cleared and created a prayer garden on the North side of the prairie. This garden is dedicated in memory of Gertrude Ann Ruder, Naomi Wenger’s mother, whose daily prayers and concern for people we remember in this place. A second prayer garden was created in 2015 on the South side of the pipeline, completing the original plan to have prayers that counter the flow of petroleum under the earth. The two gardens are gentle oases along our woodland paths and places from which to view the prairie wildlife as we breathe out prayers for the earth and for the people who use and abuse it.

The pipeline project also required the relocation of the prayer labyrinth. The new labyrinth, a Triple-Spiral design, was completed and dedicated in August 2015. This labyrinth also holds the hopes and prayers that our continual journey on Earth will be in harmony with the energetic dance of the Trinitarian God of our faith. We commit our lives to discerning that Divine Energy and joining the dance.

In that same year, we replaced the ageing propane furnaces in The Barn with a geothermal heating and cooling system. We also sealed the gaps in the Barn that an energy audit revealed were places we were losing heat. We are now using less carbon energy to heat the building by capturing heat from the earth and keeping it in the building. We also hope, one day, to produce our own electricity from solar panels so we reduce even more our dependence on non-renewable fuel (the fuel used by the electric utility to provide electricity) to heat our buildings and water.

Eating locally sourced food is another way we reduce the amount of carbon-based fuel we use in daily life. The closest source is our own developing garden space. We happily harvested and cooked many vegetables from the garden this summer and fall. We hope to continue to expand what we produce here in the coming years. We continue to ask questions about serving food that originates in or only grows in far away places. Is there a local source for these foods? Do we consider those foods the luxury they are or do we take them for granted? How often can we justify luxury eating?

We continue to ponder the many ways we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels even as the natural gas from Canadian gas wells and diluted bitumen from the tar sands of Alberta hum merrily through pipes under the soil we walk over each day. Our small protest continues and may one day be a gateway to robust living for all of the Earth, God’s good creation.

 

Our sabbatical spanned July, August, and September and was divided into two parts. The first month was dedicated to painting in our house and visiting family. The second and third months were spent on a long pilgrimage, walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. We walked 560 miles in 43 days, from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Finisterre in Spain. On our way to Spain, we stopped in Iceland for a short 5-day hike and spent a week in Southern France to celebrate our 30^th anniversary. [A more detailed account of our journey is available on our Sabbatical Blog: twohermits.wordpress.com. Scroll down to the first entry “Getting Ready” and read back up through the various entries to get a flavor of our journey. Note that the entry “Paint” should be read before “On Our Way” and “Superlative Iceland.”]

We have many lessons to relate from our journey and many that we are only beginning to learn, now that the walking is over.

• We are thankful for the new friends we made among the pilgrims with whom we shared the journey.
• We are grateful for the experience of walking together on this strenuous trek.
• We remember the generosity of other pilgrims and that what was provided on any given day was what we needed.
• The walking was sometimes a struggle and sometimes easy.
• The experience of living with only what we need was a refreshing change from our stuff-laden lives. Washing our laundry daily by hand meant that one change of clothes was sufficient for the journey.
• Food and water were abundant along the way so we only carried what we had left from a previous meal that would then be incorporated into the next one.
• We had ample time each day to pray and reflect on our journey and our responses to natural wonders or illness, injury and exhaustion.
• Most days we found something to delight us. And when that proved elusive, we were grateful that the day’s walking brought us nearer to our goal.
• We visited many beautiful churches, and walked in walled towns, through villages, along rivers, over mountains, through forests, in vineyards and wheat fields, and along busy highways. There were flies and bed bugs to contend with but very few mosquitoes. The landscape was by turns rugged and urban, agricultural and developed. The landscape welcomed us or was at least indifferent to our presence.
• We found contentment in just being where we were each day.

time for David and Naomi to go on Sabbatical. They will journey through Iceland and France on their way to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. They join millions of pilgrims who have walked this way over the last thousand years.

Kristi and Zac Bowman-Cooke are at The Hermitage leading a group of volunteer hosts and spiritual directors in the Wenger’s absence.

Check out the Pentecost 2016 Newsletter on this site for more information about summer/fall happenings at The Hermitage.