Bear Cuisine: A Christmas Prayer

One of the places we visited on our east coast trip this september was the Bluestone Farm and Living Arts Center in Brewster,NY. Our friend, Sr. Catherine Grace, is a member of the Community of the Holy Spirit, an Episcopal religious order, which has ministries in Manhattan and Brewster. I had intended to write about Bluestone at some point, but then my incredibly talented partner asked to me read her Christmas letter. She expressed our reactions to our visit so beautifully that I asked her if I could share her thoughts. She graciously gave her permission.

To those who long for the

Flowers of Spring

Show the young grasses

That push up among

the snowy hills

(Sen Rikyu)

"The convent in Brewster was established in 1961 but in 2004 the Sisters began to pursue a more intentional ministry in sustainable living. Now there is much to tend at Bluestone. Rows of beans, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, kale, carrots, radishes, Brussels sprouts, chard and so much more. Chickens and ducks and bees and maple trees…eggs and honey and syrup. Compost and prayer. Daily meals and apple orchards. Water systems and an 1870’s farmhouse/convent. Seasons flow one into another with bread baking, canning, preserving, weaving, sharing the fruits of the farm with the local food pantry, seed-saving, and nurturing souls who seek retreat and renewal.

On their website, the Sisters write:

'We, like many others of our time, are working faithfully and joyfully

toward a world in which all beings are valued, Earth and her resources

are respected and cherished, local communities become increasingly

resilient, and the rich diversity of all Earth’s living communities is seen

as a necessary and marvelous aspect of the Sacred One.'

At times this year I have grown discouraged and seen our world from winter eyes. With such great capacity for kindness I wonder that we so often choose to live with cold spirits, unwilling to treat others with respect and wonder. I have despaired of our stewardship of our earthly home and our denial of the poverty of body and spirit that so many face each day. I have longed for the Flowers of Spring and the hope that accompanies them.

And then…I was gifted a day at Bluestone Farm and Living Arts Center.

And so…I end this year and begin the next with sustainable memories…the beauty of the land, the very hard work of the Sisters and those who companion them, the generous hospitality and delicious meal we were served, the tenacity and imagination and commitment to a faith journey that holds up a vision of our world that says we can, you and I, make a difference by the way we choose to live each day.

All over the world young grasses are pushing their way up! May we be among them!"

Sr. Catherine Grace, C.H.S.