This Sunday, May 5, is Rogation Sunday. Always the sixth Sunday of Easter, Rogation Sunday falls on the Sunday before Ascension Day, which is May 9 this year. “Rogation” comes from the Latin verb “rogare,” which means, “to ask.” On Rogation Sunday, we ask God’s blessing on our parish boundaries, on our farmers and gardeners, on the planting of new crops, and for a good growing season. As with many of our older rituals, Rogation Sunday comes out of more rural faith communities, where there is a daily sense of the reality of our dependence upon the seasons, water and sun, warmth and cold, for good planting and good harvests, and for the food that sustains our bodies as God sustains our souls. Rogation Days are the three days that follow the Sunday and, even in the midst of the Fifty Days of Easter, are meant to be days of fasting and prayer.

During our 10:30 service, we will be offering prayers for our neighborhood, our farmers and gardeners, and our Oasis Garden as we acknowledge our dependence upon the work that farmers do on our behalf, and in our part of Minnesota, on behalf of the world. We will acknowledge our stewardship of the land that sustained countless generations of people before us. Our land acknowledgement statement reminds us that we worship on the ancestral land of the Wahpeton Dakota people.

I invite you to bring seeds and plants that you are getting ready to plant in your own gardens, garden tools, and any other symbol that you find speaks to you of your connection with God’s creation and your love of nature. Do you have a photo of a favorite lake or place you find solace and peace?  A painting?  A poem?  We will be blessing these items this Sunday.

As our Minnesota land turns from winter to spring, let us gather to ask God to bless us, our neighbors, and our land, and inspire us to be good caregivers of all that God has blessed us with.

In grateful thanksgiving for you,

Beth+