wfn.org | Christians Reflect on Water, Seeds, Soil During 'Rogation Days'

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 12, 2000

CHRISTIANS REFLECT ON WATER, SEEDS, SOIL DURING 'ROGATION DAYS'
00-131-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -  "Rogation Days" in May offer Christians an
opportunity to reflect on the significance of water, seeds and soil, and
the people whose livelihoods depend on these elements.
     Rogation is a Christian observance the three days before Ascension
Day, this year on June 1.  Some Christians recognize Rogation Days by
fasting or through public litanies.
Ascension Day is a commemoration of Christ's ascension into heaven.
     "Rogation is a time to remember our connectedness to the soil, to
the seeds that are planted and those that tend the soil," said the Rev.
Richard A. Magnus, executive director of the ELCA Division for Outreach.
Magnus was worship leader at a May 9 Rogation Days observance during the
weekly worship service held here at the Lutheran Center.  The Lutheran
Center houses the churchwide offices of the ELCA.
     To prepare for the observance, Sandra A. LaBlanc, ELCA director
for rural resources and networking, asked ELCA members to send soil
samples from their gardens and farm fields to her office in Des Moines.
Samples were received from 16 states, she said.
     "With each bit of dirt came a story," LaBlanc said.  The samples,
along with seeds and water, were blessed at the service.
     "We have blessed the elements of water, seeds and soil," she said.
"Why would we do that?  The answer is very simple: we all eat."
     Water is an important part of the process for producing food and
plants, she said.  Presently, more than 40 percent of the United States
is suffering from severe to moderate drought.
     "Unfortunately, that includes much of the Heartland and the Great
Plains, areas already beset by low commodity prices, bankruptcies,
vertical integration and the rest of the troubles of rural America," she
said. "Family farmers and ranchers are at risk, and many are going out
of business.  A drought will quicken this process."
     Agriculture and the people who work in the industry have a
significant connection to God, LaBlanc said.  God created water, seeds
and soil.  Nearly all of the producers LaBlanc has met believe in God,
she added.
     "The spiritual lesson of Rogation Days is that God and humanity
are cooperators in the creative processes of agriculture, that tilling
and care of the soil are humanity's God-given tasks and privilege, that
human life depends on God's goodness in quickening life-giving power in
the sown seed, which results in the return to mortals of the bounty of
the earth," LaBlanc said.

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