Dear Friends,
   It has been at least three generations since anyone in my family farmed, or even grew much more than marigolds and some rhubarb. Even so, I feel the urge to plant something. After an unusually long wait this year, spring is finally bursting out. I’ve been looking at Earth Boxes: rectangular containers of fertilized dirt suspended on a platform above a well of water—gardening made simple enough even for me. There is something attractive about seeing new life sprout from the soil.
   Jesus used the sprouting of seeds in several of his parables, including the parable of the seed growing secretly.

He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. (Mark 4:26-28)

   Many seeds of the kingdom have already been sown, in the teaching and example of Jesus. They are sprouting and growing, nourished by the Holy Spirit. When and where they will spring forth from the ground, we cannot predict. But we know that they will. And when they do, our job is to weed, water and fertilize them, so that they may mature and bear fruits of the reign of God.
   Now, sending me to hoe a garden would be a serious mistake. I can’t tell a weed from marigold unless the marigold is flowering. But stalks of the reign of God are easy to spot. They are acts of love and compassion, both large and small. One looks like a generous response to victims of tornadoes and floods. Another is shaped like an hour given to meals on wheels, or the food shelf, or habitat. Still another has the deep green of kind words or a quick note to someone who is ill or otherwise in distress. Also beautiful is celebration and encouragement of those who experience some new blessing.
   Other gifts of God grow wild, but these require our nurture to thrive. When we do nurture them, they yield those delicious fruits of the spirit detailed in Galatians: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
   As we move from spring into summer, I encourage you join God in planting seeds of love and compassion wherever you go. Nurture in yourself and others the plants of generosity, sharing, encouragement and celebration.

May you harvest the fruits of the Spirit.

~Tom

The Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Harries

Lenten Activities

Lent is the traditional time of year to take on extra prayer or learning--
to give particular attention to the Holy One.

Preach and Soup
Wednesdays at Noon

 The 34th annual Preach and Soup series held at Holy Communion continues on Wednesdays February 27, March 6, 13, & 20. The St. Peter Area Ministerial Association and Church of the Holy Communion jointly sponsor this Lenten program. Services begin at 12:05 pm and a soup luncheon follows each service. Because our congregation provides and serves the food, all monies collected in the free-will offerings are dedicated to the St Peter Area Food Shelf. The theme for this year’s series is: A favorite biblical person, and what we learn from them. Homilist for February 27 will be The Rev. Andrew Davis. March 6, The Rev. Tom Harries; March 13, the Rev Phip Schotzko; and March 20, the Rev. Amy Jo Bur.

Lenten Discussion Group
Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, February 27 through March 20

Why do bad things happen to good people? Good things happen to bad people? If God is good, where does the evil come from? How should we respond to suffering: with resignation or resistance? Join in a conversation about these questions on Wednesday evenings in Lent, starting February 27 at 7:00 pm. Gustavus religion faculty member Deborah Goodwin will introduce some the the classic biblical and theological responses to these questions as well as some contemporary perspectives. The focus will be on conversation, rather than lecture. The sessions will also be streamed live via the church website.

12 Step Recovery Service this Sunday, January 20

Our next 12 step recovery service is this Sunday, January 20th at 2:00 PM.

The 12 step recovery service combines the 12 steps with a Communion service. (Non-alcoholic wine is used.) It is a chance for mutual support and to work the 11^th step:

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

The service is ecumenical—open to people of any denomination or no denomination. Church of the Holy Communion is an Episcopal Church, where we invite all baptized people to receive Communion.
The service is open—families and friends are welcome to attend. It is not affiliated with AA or NA. People working any recovery program are invited.
Church of the Holy Communion is located at 118 North Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter. For more information contact The Rev. Tom Harries, 507-934-2542, PastorTom@HolyCommunionStPeter.org

Christmas Services

12 Step Recovery Service this Sunday

Our next 12 step recovery service is this Sunday, January 20th at 2:00 PM.

The 12 step recovery service combines the 12 steps with a Communion service. (Non-alcoholic wine is used.) It is a chance for mutual support and to work the 11^th step:

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

The service is ecumenical—open to people of any denomination or no denomination. Church of the Holy Communion is an Episcopal Church, where we invite all baptized people to receive Communion.
The service is open—families and friends are welcome to attend. It is not affiliated with AA or NA. People working any recovery program are invited.
Church of the Holy Communion is located at 118 North Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter. For more information contact The Rev. Tom Harries, 507-934-2542, PastorTom@HolyCommunionStPeter.org

Musings triggered by Quarks

There's an old, tongue in cheek idea that I first heard in relation to Dante's Inferno. What if hell as we envision it now, didn't exist until Dante imagined it, at which point, God made it so?

This month's (Nov. 2021) Scientific American contains an article titled "The Inner Life of Quarks: What if the smallest bits of matter actually harbor an undiscovered world of particles?" Chemists and physicists of the early 19th century thought atoms were indivisible, but in the 20th century they were found to be composed of even smaller entities: electrons, neutrons, and protons. Nothing could be smaller that that, could it? But yes. We now know these particles are made of still smaller ones. Most recently physicists thought that the smallest, indivisible particles were quarks and leptons. But now, Dr. Lincoln and others suggest they may be made up of still more miniscule particles.

I don't really believe this is the case, but it makes me smile to think that, just possibly, God is playing with us. Not as in trying to test our faith or anything like that, but as in having fun. What if God is engaged in a creative dance with some of our best and most determined researchers? What if each time they burst open and describe one group of "indivisible" particles, God lays down another one, like another geo-cache waiting to be discovered?

Southwest Mission Area Churches and Lands

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