Last week we announced that the Seeds of Grace worship will be beginning October 1. But this begs the question… what the heck are Seeds of Grace? Why did we choose that name? Seeds have a special place in our Christian faith. Seeds are a symbol of our strong desire for connection and commitment to care for all of God’s creation. Earth was created as a garden, and put under our care. We hope that this service will teach us to work with each other and God’s creation, and not dominate it. It is past time that we start acting like caretakers instead of overlords and masters.
I also connect seeds directly to the stories of Jesus that we hear in the gospels. Living in a mostly rural society, some of Jesus’ most famous stories and parables were about seeds and plants. The parable of the sower (Luke 8:1-15) reminds us to tend to our communities, so that God’s love might grow hundredfold, and we can’t forget the humble and small mustard seed that grows beyond the expectations of its small size to symbolize both the power of our faith and the reign of God. We hope that this worship will plant seeds of hope, faith, and love into all that attend, and through them, into the surrounding community.–Rev. Shane