The Rev. Tina Rathbone is away until Sunday, September 11.

The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet, 1857

It is almost time to start gleaning the fields in New England. I remember the first time I participated in this annual custom. I was in my third year with Taft Farms and Danny asked if I wanted to join others from our community and help in the gleaning. Gleaning has been an important custom for well over 2,000 years when farmers invited neighbors and strangers to come onto their land to pick what was left in the fields after harvest was finished. I enjoyed meeting people from the community and hear their stories about gleaning, canning vegetables, putting up tomatoes for tasty winter tomato sauce, making pesto and pickling beets, carrots, string beans and other vegetables. Gone are the days when families would buy 50 lb bags of potatoes and onions to keep in their cellar during winter months. So many families now cannot afford their own homes and do not have the space for winter food storage. There are still many families in our community that depend on the leftover crops they can glean from the fields so they can continue to feed their families in the months ahead.   

Hearing the stories of how folks prepare for the long winter months ahead reminded me once again how important it is to meet with people in our community and hear their stories and share our stories with them. When I am with our friends at the Great Barrington People’s Pantry, I enjoy so much learning about their customs and hearing about their families and their concerns.  We share with one another recipes handed down from our mothers and grandmothers, and laugh about how it never seems to taste as good as when they made these dishes. They have also shared with me how hard it is to make food last during the week when you are feeding a family of four or six. They tell me often how appreciative they are for the food from the local farms and how good and fresh the vegetables are when delivered to the pantry. I think it is in the sharing of our stories, whether we are gleaning the fields or standing in line at the People’s Pantry, that God helps us open our hearts, eyes and ears to care for one another in a deeper way.  That is a very good thing.

Pennie Curry, Junior Warden

The End of August (by Robert Frost)

I am overtired of the great harvest I myself desired

It's the end of August and I'm tired. The garden is tired. The grass is tired.

Everything is tired. We've all had too much summer.

Bring on the cold. Bring on the frost. Bring on all that death and destruction.

Let's have some quiet and some peace. Let us rest. Give us emptiness

This has always been my favorite time of year - when late summer begins to bleed into autumn. It is a time of change, deliberation, and rest. While there is still plenty to do, the end of the season is in sight and everything starts to slow down. You start to notice the harvest begin to taper off and you begin to decide what to keep and what to put to rest. The mornings are chilly and the afternoons pleasant. No longer is work an endless flurry of activity dripping with sweat. Instead, each action is deliberate and final. Once something is out of the ground, you rest assured that it won't be back in the ground until the new year. Everything - all the tools, seeds, and material - is put back in it's appointed place and you go home each day knowing everything that needed to be done is finally done. Then one day in October or November after you have put the earth to rest, you look up to the sky, give out a sapped but satisfied sigh and say with only a touch of irony "It is finished" and finally go to bed.

Imprinted: Illustrating Race        June 11 through October 30

Norman Rockwell Museum        Stockbridge,MA

This  powerful exhibit examines the role of published images in shaping attitudes toward race and culture. Over 300 artworks and objects on view of widely circulated illustrated imagery will be on view, produced from the late eighteenth century to today, which have an impact on public perception about race in the United States. The exhibition will explore stereotypical racial representations that have been imprinted upon us through the mass publication of images. It culminates with the creative accomplishments of contemporary artists and publishers who have shifted the cultural narrative through the creation of positive, inclusive imagery emphasizing full agency and equity for all.

Click here for more information

BOOKS AND BREAD

Wednesday, September 14

at 6:00 PM

in person and on Zoom

HAMNET

by Maggie O'Farrell

Our host for dinner will be Frank Garretson. Dindy Anderson will lead our discussion.

Our gathering ends at promptly at 9:00PM. Questions? Please contact Peter Kirchoff.

For Zoom:

Click Here

Meeting ID: 177 160 858

Password: 917937

or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)

All are welcome!

Our Prayer Basket

We welcome you to use our prayer basket.

On Sundays you will find a basket near the Welcome Table with slips of paper available for you to write down prayer requests. Please ask for any prayers that are important to you and those you love. You may identify yourself and those for whom prayers are needed, but names are not necessary or required. These prayers will be offered by our healing ministers both during the service and during the week for a period of one month. Keep an eye out for the basket!!

To listen to Sarah Sieber explaining the operation of the Prayer Basket CLICK HERE

(K. Clausen)

Thank you to Howard Seip and Dutch Pinkston for stepping up to accompany and direct the choir on Sunday, September 4 while Lee and John Cheek were gone. 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11,

Get a good start to the school year

Don't miss the

BLESSING

OF THE BACKPACKS!

FLOWER DEDICATIONS!

Please place your dedications in an envelope and include the name of the person you wish to honor.

Please note that your $35.00 contribution toward the flower purchase can be sent to the Grace Office or placed in the Offertory Collection.