Mennonite Creation Care Network and Mennonite Men/Join Trees are partnering with Andrew Hudson, a student at AMBS, to support congregations interested in developing their relationship to their land. Join us Tuesday evening, September 7, 7:30 p.m. ET for an initial opportunity to hear from Andrew. Register below.
Andrew is a descendant of farmers, pastors and missionaries who settled in the Pacific Northwest. With experience in both pastoral ministry and organic agriculture, he has a passion for helping congregations relate to their land. After all, ‘pastor’ and ‘pasture’ have a common etymology, he notes.
Andrew wants to support congregations in finding their voice among the different callings that come up as part of their relationship to land.
“So much comes into being on land: maintaining flowers, growing food, acknowledging Indigenous connection to the land, past and present. Outdoor programs, wild church, parking, and other land uses come up as well,” Andrew says.
Andrew will invite congregants to recognize that they have individual passions within a larger calling. These inclinations may lean toward buildings and grounds-type thinking, or earthcare-type thinking. Andrew affirms the importance of both mindsets and sees each individual passion as a gift of the Spirit.
“We will hold space for a deeper collective understanding of the Spirit’s leadership on the land to emerge,” he says.