wfn.org | Struggles of the rural America shared

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 29, 1999	News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.    10-21-24-71B{166}

By Deanna Armstrong*

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UMNS) -- In the farm crisis that swept the country in the
1980s, nearly  a half  million family farms went out of business.  In the
last year farm commodities have once again fallen dramatically, forcing many
others off their farms. 

Participants gathered for the 14th annual Town and Country Consultation
sponsored by Saint Paul School of Theology and the Heartland Network heard
story after story about the struggles of the family farmer and rural
America.

They read a letter a nine year old child from Nebraska sent recently to the
President Clinton: "I am wondering if you could help me because I am
worried.  I want to farm when I grow up. My Dad had to work another job so
we could pay our bills to keep the farm.  It makes me sad because I never
see him. My grandpa has to sell part of his farm, and that makes me sad too.
My grandpa, dad and me too just want to feed people. We're good at it. 

"Here's what I know--farmers are having sales because they can not live off
the prices so low. I bet a lot of farmers would still be farming. 

"Would you ask more people to care about the farmers who raise their food?
Pray for us to help us get through this tough time. And we will pray for you
to guide us."

The consultation suggested ways churches could provide care for the farmers
in their communities. The primary issues rural ministries face are the
shrinking of rural communities, the closing of schools, hospitals and
factories, the graying of rural populations, the corporate buyout of farms
during the farm crisis and the changing face of poverty in rural areas.

Social and emotional problems go hand in hand with the financial  problems
facing farm families today. Judy Heffernan, director of the Heartland
Network, told participants that many times farmers will blame themselves and
see themselves as failures. They withdraw from family and friends and become
depressed, sometimes to the point of becoming suicidal or physically ill. 

Statistics show that people who live in rural areas are twice as likely to
experience depression as in urban areas. People in rural communities are
also much more independent and much less likely to ask for assistance than
people in urban areas.  Suicide rates are high,  especially among senior
citizens. 

Joan Blundall, associate director for Seasons Center for Community Health in
Spencer, Iowa, had extensive experience with providing support for
distressed communities during the farm crisis of the 1980s.  She said the
current crisis is more severe because of the fast drop in pork  and grain
prices. "People are in shock and denial," she said.  "They don't know how to
deal with it because it came too quickly."   

Rural families are often so tied to the land they will do everything they
can to keep from leaving the farm, she continued    Sometimes they take
second or third jobs to supplement income, putting severe strain on
marriages and family relationships.

Blundall said the most common reactions are depression, anger and grief.
Depression often manifests itself in symptoms like not wanting to get up in
the morning, believing that one has no control over life, not seeing any
point in trying, believing that others don't care and cutting oneself off
from family and community.   She said that in 50 percent of the couples who
came into her clinic for marital counseling, the root problem was severe
depression. 

When prices drop as low as they are currently, farmers can't make a profit
and are forced to borrow heavily to stay on the land or are forced to sell
out. Blundall said the along with the loss of the farm comes the loss of
identity and self- esteem, the loss of relationships, community status, and
sometimes even the loss of health due to severe stress. The effects of the
loss last a
long time after people have left the farm. 

Heffernan said the church can help people work through the grief of losing
their land. Walking beside people who are experiencing the loss of their
farms or holding celebrations of praise like a blessing of the land can be
very powerful first step in the grief process, she said.  "We can listen, we
can care.  We can show support." 

Blundall said it is critical to provide space where people feel safe to get
through the ordeals they face. "We need to be able to ask, 'What are you
feeling that you are not saying to each other  or to yourself?' We must
listen to the lives of people, read between the lines and hear what they are
not saying as well as what they are
saying," said Blundall.

Heffernan said families in crisis or transition struggle with a sense of
belonging. She said the church can play a vital role in honoring the
memories and telling the stories of the land and its people.  She said that
rituals can be a very strong vehicle for tying people to the land and the
community. Liturgies can be a powerful tool to the  allow group involvement
and give
language to what people are feeling so they can deal with it. 

The church can provide opportunities for people to come together as
community and channel their energies into creative projects. Dr. Ed Kail,
chair of Town and Country Ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology,
suggested that familiar activities like pot lucks, painting Sunday School
classrooms, planting community gardens or organizing volunteer in mission
projects can
help the community members take their minds off their own problems.

The church can also help network people to resources that can help with
physical or emotional problems or employment opportunities or career
training. Today's communications technologies can link people to a multitude
of resources where they were isolated before. 

Kail said the church must also be an advocate for social justice. "Probably
70 percent of our churches are in rural areas, but we are all impacted by
this current crisis. The cost is not just the loss of family farms and the
rural communities, the cost includes environmental degradation, food safety
and security, health and quality of life in farming communities, and the
dislocation of people from the rural communities and the resulting increased
urban problems.  The faith community has a crucial role to play in
intervention and response to the devastation of our farm communities."
# # #

*Armstrong is a Kansas City, Mo.,-based correspondent for United Methodist
News Service.

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