Tag Archives: Harvest

Saving the World Through Institutions

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Orange leaves fall in October on an old country road in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Saturday, October 15/28, 2023
Mother of God Who Ripens the Grain

Finally most of us are in the thick of the regular fall schedule. Since we are also in the season of electing or re-electing officials in November, it is a time to think about social change. I listened to this commentary about the lack of conservatives in the political activist space and whether or not this poses a problem. The article came down on a very interesting and subtle point: that the way to change the world is not so much by directly agitating the powers that be for social change, but by building enduring institutions which promote healthy and God honoring values. In this time of great social upheaval, I would like to express my gratitude for at least two enduring institutions that have meant the world to me and my family.

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Harvest is Here!

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Screen_Shot_2015_10_25_at_6.21.00_PM__48020.1445822824Every year at this time, when most children are deciding what costume to wear for a feast that toys with evil, our family gathers for the more serious fun of a Harvest Festival. It is a fitting tribute to our God the creator as we the sub-creators bring the intelligent fruit of our labours together. The students of Saint Herman of Alaska Christian School for over 2 decades of its existence have every year gathered for this festival at the end of October closed to the 28th, the feast day of the Mother of God, “She Who Ripens the Grain”.

Festivities begin with several recitations from the different classes. Poems are declaimed, stories are portrayed, and all people remember to thank the God who gives us life. Headmaster Father Patrick Tishel spoke of how the Mother of God ripened the figurative grain of the Lord Jesus in her womb. Similarly, we offer back to the Lord of life the fruits of our minds and hands. Continue reading →

Sub-Culture Vs. Real Culture

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Saturday, October 15/28, 2017
Mother of God Who Ripens the Grain

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

The English word culture is rooted in the Latin word cultura meaning agriculture, tillage, or husbandry. But the modern English word has drifted far from this association with the earth into realms of plastic fabrication and surrogate substitution. Many contemporary Christians, for instance, without an authentic culture to under-gird their worthy spiritual aspirations, have created a whole sub-culture which seeks simply to borrow popular forms it finds in the world and substitute Christian lyrics/content into them. Such a recycling of pop culture often results in entertainment that is cheap and inauthentic. Continue reading →

Pickin’ and Hummin’ in the Harvest

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IMG_2259Our family had the great fortune already this fall of attending two celebrations of the harvest with many more to come. The first was a long-standing tradition we have had of going with St. Herman Christian School to our favorite fruit farm in Northborough, MA. The second was a new tradition that we intend to repeat with my parents who now live in the area: the yearly harvest of the largest producer of cranberries in the world, right here in New England! Continue reading →

Redeeming Harvest Time

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Redeeming the times for the days are evil…

Such a redemption is the basis for our whole church life with its organization of time around the liturgical cycles of feasts and fasts, of saints and holy events, of celebrations and commemorations of deliverance by the hand of almighty God. While these liturgical cycles are more than adequate to feed and order the spiritual life, it is important similarly to feed the soul with an equally rich and diverse sustenance of cultural and seasonal celebrations. Continue reading →