It’s hard to write an annual report when you are speechless with gratitude. But here you go.

I’ve felt called to begin Plainsong Farm since 2001 when our family moved to the farm. While I ignored that call over the years, it only grew louder. Strangely, it was inaudible to others. I started trying to explain my vision for the farm in 2008. Fellow clergy looked at me like I had temporarily lost my mind.

In 2013 I tried to start Plainsong Farm for the first time. I failed. In 2014 I got down on my knees and said, “Lord, if you want this farm ministry, you’re going to have to do it. I can’t do it. But if you will do it, I will try to help.”

It sounds like a profoundly faithful prayer. But in truth, it was not. I asked God to do it, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next: God did it. That’s a longer story than fits in this report. But here we are: celebrating the first year of life and ministry on Plainsong Farm. It would never have happened without the faithfulness of Michael and Bethany Edwardson, co-founders, who moved to the farm in 2015, transformed it into a farm again, and have been part

of the journey every step of the way since we first met in fall 2014.

Not many people start a community supported agriculture farm and have their second child in the same year. They did.

But after waiting, hoping and praying for Plainsong Farm to exist for over a decade, I think my year might actually have been just as momentous as theirs. It is my prayer that we will continue to serve God together – and together with you, our donors and partners – for many years to come.

Plainsong Farm 2016 growing food for people & people for God

A Letter from the Director

Good Food for All - Kent County

Making local, organically grown vegetables more accessible to all is one of our core commitments. In 2016, our first growing season, donors enabled us to provide $3,815.00 worth of farm fresh produce through three partnerships. North Kent Community Services, North End Community Ministries, and The Pantry distributed our produce through the emergency pantry system.

Mike was honored as a “Champion of Change” by United Way for our efforts in local charitable food. In 2017 we’ll be continuing and deepening our partnerships in northern Kent County. We were also honored to be a recipient agency of our local Hunger Walk in our first growing season!

The Hunger Walk brings together Kent County to support good food for all. We were one of eighteen recipient agencies in 2016 and have been invited to return. Join us May 7, 2017.

Worship & Education at the Farm

In 2016 we experimented with worship and environmental education. Since one of our goals is to provide young adult residencies integrating sustainable agriculture and faith formation, we were delighted that our first worship experience was led by a young adult. Abby Bok is the Living Green Graduate Fellow at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. We also hosted two North Rockford Middle School 6th grade classrooms. These young people helped us move wood chips and plant seedlings, while also learning the super-local history of the farm. This visit was supported by LGROW, our local watershed protection agency.

Faith Communities for Good Food - Michigan

Many faith communities are active in charitable food ministry, but too often fail to see their local efforts in the context of the broader food system.

Because Michigan developed a statewide Good Food Charter through a grassroots process in 2009, we are well poised to be a national leader in good food systems development. However, faith communities are largely unaware of the Good Food Charter.

We led the way for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan to adopt the Good Food Charter, then organized the first-ever “Faith Communities for Just Food” panel at the Michigan Good Food

Summit in 2016. This panel provided us an opportunity to partner with Hazon, the Jewish agency which inspires much of our work.

Christian Food Movement - Nationwide

All those years that Nurya was feeling called to start a farm, she lacked both examples and context. Were there other faith-based farms? Where? Who else saw the connections between sustainable agriculture, care of Creation, climate change, and Christianity?

Finally, tired of being an outlier in Christian circles (because of her interest in food systems) and in food systems circles (because of her faith), she created the Guide to the Christian Food Movement. It began as a PDF in 2015 and became a website and searchable directory in 2016 due to the support of donors across the US. It is an honor for the farm to provide these resources to others since they were exactly the type of resources we needed years ago! In the coming year we will be adding news and opinion writers, seeking site sponsors and potentially integrating forums (depending on need and support).

Grow Christians - Nationwide

As a Christian educator, Nurya was aware of major trends: families were pulled in multiple directions and not consistent in attending Sunday morning worship. Though they were interested in faith formation at home, those practices weren’t sufficiently resourced by denominational leaders still focused on Sunday morning classroom models.

Since the farm ministry is aimed at helping people live as disciples in place, we were excited to create a resource for families practicing faith at home. This program is focused on the Episcopal Church and is a partnership with Forward Movement. Grow Christians received over 100,000 pageviews in 2016 after launching at the beginning of Lent.

Next Steps in Faith

It’s astonishing to realize that in February 2015, the farm was empty and fallow. There was no farm ministry. There was no food. 2016 was quite a change - with a CSA farm that fed forty families and new initiatives that made a difference both locally and nationally.

God did it. And we ask you to please help God grow it. Our dreams are still bigger than our pocketbook. We’re aiming to begin immersive experiences for young adults integrating daily prayer, sustainable agriculture, the study of Scripture and reflection on ethics in the 21st century. That’s a big dream, and we need to grow our base of support to make it happen.

Thank you for giving to this ministry in 2016. Bless you for believing in it when it barely existed. And now that it is here, please spread the word and keep helping the work along.

Want to be part of God’s work growing the farm? Donate. Share this newsletter with a friend. And please pray for us - that we might discern and follow God’s way as we do this work.