icing on a burnt cake
Hello, Everyone! Today’s writeup is an exciting one. Today I’ll be introducing you to the first (hopefully, of many) projects for Redeem Mi Land. I’ve nicknamed this piece of land “Icing on a Burnt Cake”…and as you read, you’ll see why.
First, a little backstory as to how this land came onto my radar.
A little less than a year ago I had the privilege of meeting a new pastor who was just hired for a church in Montague (Ferry Memorial). I was serving in a position for our denomination (Reformed Church in America) that helped oversee the ordination of new pastors. As we met and talked over a beverage at the local brewery I was able to share with him the idea of Redeem Mi Land and what I hoped it could be. He responded with, “You have to meet Jeff!” (Jeff…by the way…is the City Manager for Montague)
It was a few weeks later, another meeting, this time with many pastors in our local area to discuss the business of our Classis, and who should be running the sound system for the meeting? Jeff.
We were introduced and I began to explain the project and I could tell that this was right up his alley… He had a background in conservation, and had been involved with many of the city’s land projects already. He thought he might have the perfect spot and soon we were walking and talking on the land itself.
This piece of land, smaller than an acre, is located along the Montague-Hart Rail Trail…it is a stone’s throw from the White River, it is in eyesight of a public park, a city campground, a nice gazebo, and it is also, a dump.
A dump?! You might be surprised that I say that. It doesn’t look that bad…in fact, part of it has nicely manicured grass. Well, appearances can be deceiving. Years ago, during the height of the lumber industry for the area, there were a number of things that contributed to the land being changed. Since it was so close to the water it was deemed a suitable location for a mill, for an iron works, and other similar things creating piles of dust and debris into what was once a wetland for native species. After those businesses dried up it would become the local town dump where refuse was thrown. A local resident, who had grown up in Montague, told me how in the 1960s he would go to the area to shoot rats.It was around the 1980s that the city decided it didn’t like having a dump so close to where people could see it, that a park might be better. This was a good idea, but in executing the idea it was deemed better (easier?) to simply cover the dump with dirt and sod than to remove it and clean the land from it. It was leveled off, and given a nice green top coat.
You can see now why I’m calling this land “Icing on a Burnt Cake” :)
From a theological point of view, in trying to make this living parable of what Redemption means in our lives as shown through redeeming the land, I find it a very poignant and telling thing about our human condition that the original solution was to simply make it look nice. Not to deal with the mess, but to simply put a nice facade over it. Isn’t that just like our own lives? When we are a mess down deep inside, we simply put on a good front, a good face to the world? We look all put together on the outside, but poke just a little bit below the surface and you find out what a mess we really are.
In talking with Jeff about what we could do, he pointed out another piece of land just on the other side of the old tracks where we could draw inspiration. In this location the ground was excavated and rubbish removed, recycled, or scrapped. It was then re-planted with native species and a wetland is returning…with some nice paths and art to showcase it as well. This was done in partnership with other organizations as well as the city. We believe we could do similar with this land.
We, and by “we” I mean anyone and everyone who wishes to make this part of their story of faith and community… we will hopefully be able to excavate this land and remove the old dump from beneath the grass. Finally, address the core issue that is keeping this land from being something like God intended it to be. Through volunteers the trash will be sorted…metal scrapped, recyclable things recycled, and everything else brought to a proper landfill. The grounds will be replanted with species that are more native to the habitat, and hopefully encourage other plants and wildlife to return to this beautiful wetland area.
That’s the general overview…there are many logistics and details to be worked out, partnerships to be forged, monies to be raised, and work to be done. If you would like to be involved, to donate, or simply kept in the loop…please click on any of the previous links or contact me to find out more. There will be many future updates on this project as I start to make the transition out of my sabbatical and back into a regular rhythm of life and ministry.
