Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

Openness to the working of the Spirit in both individual and in community is vital, life-giving. Without it, there will be a closed-up person, a closed-up
community. —Esther De Waal, A Life-Giving Way

My friend Anthony and I both love growing things. We love walking out our back doors and plucking fresh fruit or vegetables off trees, bushes, stalks and vines. But we live on different ends of the country, and though we both live in states known in part for farming, what grows in our yards is very different. For instance, he can walk out his back door and have his fill of limes and oranges. I can walk out my back door and have my fill of chestnuts and pecans. We are both growers, but the bounty from our efforts is very different.

Learning to plant what will grow in your soil and climate is challenging for every gardener, farmer, creation care activist and agrarian minister. A similar challenge is learning to make ourselves at home in our communities instead of forcing them to be who we wish they were. Nurturing ministries that will grow in our soil and climate rather than the soil we wish we had is crucial to the flourishing of all. This is why Episcopal Relief & Development works with local farmers in drought-prone areas on sustainable agricultural practices to create more resilience in the face of climate change.
Without creating a wholly false and manufactured environment, I will never be able to grow limes like Anthony, nor will he be able to grow chestnuts like I can. They are not authentic to our habitats. The question for every person and community of faith isn’t, “What do we want God to grow here?” but “What is it that God wants to grow in the soil we have?” What talents and resources are available in this place and time and climate? How can we catalyze change and development by tapping into the existing assets and capacities of our people and surrounding communities? And, maybe most importantly, are we willing to open our hearts and imaginations to that work?

For REFLECTION:

Consider your prayers or your community’s prayers for growth. Have you predetermined what growth looks like? Or do you need to be reoriented to where the Holy Spirit is already at work? 

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation “A Commonplace Lent.”

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.