St. Anne's in-the-Fields Episcopal Church

From the Rector

                                                     Seeds of Faith

            "So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
             but only God who gives the growth."                 – 1 Corinthians 3:7

One spring, when I was a little girl, my mother gave me a trowel and a packet of tiny
seeds and led me out into our backyard. I was to have my own small garden in a sunny
spot beside the fence separating our yard from the neighbors. Mom showed my how to
turn the soil, make little holes with my index finger, drop in the seeds and cover them
carefully with moist earth. She explained about earthworms and how they help make the
ground a happy place for plants to grow. We watered the seeds with a watering can and I
waited.

Each day I checked my garden and before long, little green shoots were poking up out of
the earth. My mother told me that the seeds I’d planted were carrot seeds. She said that
while I could see feathery green leaves above the ground, down below orange roots were
pushing down into the soil, getting bigger every day. I looked at the soft green tops and
wondered about those carrots. Were they really under there? One afternoon, I decided to
see for myself. Carefully, I took hold of the pale green plants and pulled them up out of
the earth. Yes, little orange carrots were growing at the other end! I tucked them back
safely into the soil.

Every couple of days, I pulled up my little garden to check on the progress. And after a
few weeks, the carrots I pulled up were perfectly round. Those poor roots had become
completely disoriented. They no longer knew which way to grow.

Like a tiny seed, faith is dynamic. Faith is mysterious. It needs to be tended and
nurtured, but its mystery needs to be respected so that God can give the growth. Faith is
not some declaration written in stone, or a sentimental inheritance, and it’s not some
magic elixir that, if we’re dosed well enough, will protect us from suffering. Faith, at
heart, is about relationship: relationship with God and relationship with God’s creation.

The Apostle Paul, the ultimate planter of the Church, reminds the Corinthians that while God
chooses to use human hands to sow and plant and water the seeds of faith, it is God who
gives the growth. If we become too infatuated with our own backyard drama, we may forget
that we are part of a much larger show.

It’s the time of year when gardeners in our midst are getting busy, and parishioners at St.
Anne’s are thinking about summer, preparing to scatter far and wide as our “program year”
routine draws to a close, school terms end and vacations beckon. Some of us will be sent
forth from this place to do the work of Christian mission: feeding the homeless in New York
City, creating community for B-Safe kids, planting gardens in Malawi, Africa, so hungry
families may eat year round, making a safe and beautiful space for children to play at St.
Mary’s in Dorchester, and much more.

Others may look to the summer months as a time to nourish our inner selves, to restore our
souls after a hectic and demanding year. Many of us will try to do a bit of both. Regardless
of where you travel in the coming months, to Cape Cod or Cape Town or your own
backyard, I encourage you to set aside some time to think and pray about seeds you may
have planted this year, earth you may have watered, light you may have brought to illuminate
the darkness in your own corner of creation.

Resist the urge to yank up your little garden to make sure all is going according to plan.
Trust that the work you’ve done is the work you’ve been called to do and let God give the
growth.

May you have a blessed, safe and peaceful summer.

Faithfully,
Kate +