Last Chance for 2017 Conservation Stewardship Funding
Sign-up Period for this Year Ends Friday
This is the final week for farmers and ranchers seeking 2017 funding under the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to submit their initial applications. CSP is the nation's largest working lands conservation program and supports owners in their efforts to actively manage and expand conservation activities on their agricultural lands.
Friday, Feb. 3, is the final day to submit the initial brief application. The form is simple and asks only for information regarding land ownership, type of production, and contract information.
Click here to learn more and download the application form.
If approved, applicants will move forward and through a more detailed eligibility and ranking processes. Although farmers can sign up for CSP throughout the year, those who miss this week's deadline will not be considered for the program until 2018.
USCCB's Statement on the Executive Order Regarding Refugees
Welcoming the Stranger Among Us
Catholic Rural Life stands in solidarity with the leaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops who stated in a recent letter:
"The Lord Jesus fled the tyranny of Herod, was falsely accused and then deserted by his friends. He had nowhere to lay His head (Lk. 9:58). Welcoming the stranger and those in flight is not one option among many in the Christian life. It is the very form of Christianity itself...They are Jesus and the Church will not turn away from Him.
Our desire is not to enter the political arena, but rather to proclaim Christ alive in the world today. In the very moment a family abandons their home under threat of death, Jesus is present. And He says to each of us, 'whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me' (MT 25:40)."
To read the full letter from the USCCB please click here.
For more about the Church's teachings on how to welcome the stranger click here.
Feast of St. Brigid of Ireland
Patron of Dairy Workers Celebrated February 1
Yesterday we celebrated the feast day of
St. Brigid of Ireland. She shines as an example of love and care for our land and animals: "Christ dwells in every creature", we pray in her spirit.
CRL seeks to demonstrate and teach generosity and love though St. Brigid's examples and trials faced in her lifetime. Her trials became triumphs with her pure of heart intents, trust in God and full faith in every aspect of the devoted life she led.
Monthly Blessing for February
Blessing of New Life
Birth is an elusive mystery: an everyday occurrence in nature and rural life that is nonetheless marvelous to behold. Its wonder and splendor are fresh with each new entrance into creation. At the appointed time, a universal labor of intense energy opens the womb of Nature's gateway and ushers into the world an innocence and hope that is always a gift.
In a moment of revelation, we are privileged to witness and perhaps assist the birth of the latest member of our renewing world. Hand in hand with the Creator, we grasp the rhythm of new life, new breath and new hope.
To pray the February blessing of new life,
click here.
CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE
Our mission is dedicated to addressing and overcoming
the challenges facing rural America: social, economic and ecological.
Feast of St. Brigid of Ireland
Monthly Blessing for February
