September 21, 2020
A Sweet Smelling Gift from the Soil
Seven years ago some women of ECW (Episcopal Church Women) decided to plant lavender in the planter box at the top of the hill at the entrance to Church of the Holy Comforter.

Two plants thrived in that well drained spot and during the summers the plant’s blooms were cut and dried.

The dried lavender was used to fill bags sewn from fabric found at Pennywise and satin ribbon secured the bags and a card, welcoming visitors to our church. These gifts are part of the welcome bags given to our guests.
Our grounds are the source of many gifts such as the sweet smelling lavender.

In the New Testament books of John and Luke, a form of lavender was mentioned as spikenard, a very expensive, fragrant herb used for anointing a person’s head or feet. Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus’ feet with spikenard and dried them with her hair.

The gifts of the soil were recognized by the Greeks and Romans in the time of Jesus and continue today as we share and care for others.

–Jane Schmiedekamp