Respond to the Call...Again

If you had been driving by Christian Temple early morning or late afternoon, you would have seen a sea of yellow t-shirts. Here is what they said:

This is the way of peace

Overcome evil with good

falsehood with truth

and hatred with love

-Peace Pilgrim

A small group of people, small in relationship to our world, 9 teams of 11 at least, have taken a day remembered for tragedy and turned it into a day of hope and renewal and honor. For six years, this group has responded to the call, to work together, side by side, people of different race and creed, to promote peace in our small section of the world. Hopefully, it will pay it forward. This year all four of us made it a priority, felt its call.

Emma and I worked together for First Fruits Farm. Before going into the orchard, Carol, the owner of the farm, lead us in prayer. We were the estrogen team, a group of 12 women and girls, Muslim and Christian. We picked apples, gleaned the top of the trees and the ground, and along with two other volunteer groups, picked over 150 bushels of apples. The apples were going to various agencies in the Mid Atlantic region, where it was needed. There were still trees bursting with fruit when we left. It was a satisfying task and was rewarded with crisp, juicy apples for our lunch along with a few to take home.

Audrey joined her youth group, working with Civic Works. They split into two groups, one weeding a stone labyrinth and the other weeding a vegetable garden, both formerly vacant lots. My Handsome Prince worked on the Prisoner's Aid house laying flooring, clearing the back yard of weeds and brush, painting and other various maintenance projects. Other groups went to a therapeutic horse farm to paint fences, although some of those kids came back with more paint on them than the fences, I think. We had 3 groups stay back to quilt for Prisoner's Aid, knit hats for premature babies, and put together packages for the National Federation of the Blind that will assist families to learn to read braille. We had a group painting bedrooms and planting gardens at the Children's Home in Catonsville.

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.