Re: Religion and community gardening

o* z*

Bob (and all)...

I think it's important to acknowledge, that as community gardeners, we 
comprise a very diverse group of folks. We come from different backgrounds 
and often have different beliefs and certainly different life paths.

However, we are all united by our love of gardening, by our commitment to 
transforming a patch of land, however small, into a little slice of 
paradise--or at least a respite from the world. Many of us are engaged in 
building communities from the gardens in which we are involved, too.

I would hope that we would be able to honor the diversity that comes as a 
part of this far-flung and very special group of people. I can understand 
your feeling that religion has been misused by a great many people. In this 
case, though, religion is being shared as a common ground for those who have 
a reverence for the earth and for working in communities where our 
connection to the earth may have been severed.

A part of the work we all do as community gardeners involve understanding 
and tolerance. Those who have shared a religious perspective should be 
welcomed to the table and learned from, if you want to, that is.

If religion is not your gig, that's fine. But I would hope that you can see 
that the folks who shared this message are not peddling hatred or 
divisiveness, but simply trying to emphasize another way in which to look at 
the work in which we are all engaged. There are a tremendous number of 
people who are attracted to community gardening who are religious folks, and 
I would argue that all are spiritual in some way. Their contribution should 
be honored, and if it doesn't appeal to you, it only takes one click to move 
on.

Peace.

Odin

>From: "rwillovell" <idoutit@earthlink.net>
>To: "community_garden@mallorn" <community_garden@mallorn.com>
>Subject: [cg] Religion and community gardening
>Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:15:57 -0700
>
>No thank you for the religion being peddled to community gardens. Please 
>stop. Start your own user groups.
>
>I am of the Jesse Ventura school, and don't appreciate religion being 
>shoved at me. I can count 10 channels of religion on cable sometimes, 
>mostly being pushed by gay-and- race-haters dressed in silk suits, peddling 
>books about hellfire. Bosnia, Kosova, Northern Ireland, the Christian Nazi 
>murderers and the whole bloody history of religion is not a big turn-on.
>
>Thanks for nothing.
>Bob L

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