On Saturday, January 20, 2018, the Episcopal Church of St. Martin will host a community forum with Brian Sellers-Petersen, author of “Harvesting Abundance: Local Initiatives of Food and Faith.” A leading advocate of the “food and faith movement,” Sellers-Petersen consults with congregations across the nation as they seek to grow food, feed hungry neighbors, cultivate community, and care for the earth.

The forum and potluck dinner will be held at 5:00 PM in the St. Martin’s Parish Hall, 640 Hawthorn Lane in Davis.

Sellers-Peterson will be joined by panelists including the Rev. Dr. Pamela Dolan, founder of Shepherd Farm near St. Louis, and Jim Schaal, founder of the SPR Food Garden in Chicago. “Brian is a great mentor to this growing movement, and we are honored to share his wisdom with the Davis community,” said Dolan, who joined St. Martin’s as Rector in September 2017 after writing her doctor of ministry thesis on gardening as a spiritual practice.

Read an excerpt from his book.

Sellers-Petersen Cool Davis
Brian Sellers-Petersen working with bees. Courtesy photo.

St. Martin’s has invited panelists from other local programs, such as the Grace Garden at Davis United Methodist Church and the Children’s Garden at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation.  “Through the Harvesting Abundance forum,” said Schaal, “we hope to connect leaders and inspire new visions for both existing and emerging initiatives of food and faith.”

Among the topics of discussion will be the role of faith communities in strengthening resilient local food systems as a response to global climate change. “The food on our tables is highly vulnerable to climate change,” noted Gerry Braun, chair of the Valley Clean Energy Alliance Advisory Committee and outgoing chair of St. Martin’s environmental ministry committee, “and our current food system is both heavily dependent on fossil fuels and imminently threatened by carbon emissions.”

St. Martin’s is a Cool Davis partner and the Harvesting Abundance forum is co-sponsored by the Yolo Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice, an active working group of the Cool Davis Coalition.

For those who cannot attend the Harvesting Abundance forum on Saturday evening, St. Martin’s welcomes visitors to worship on Sunday, January 21 at 7:45 AM and 10:00 AM, where Brian Sellers-Petersen will be the guest preacher, and to a reception at 11:30 AM, where Sellers-Petersen will read excerpts from his book and sign copies available for purchase.

All of the weekend’s events at St. Martin’s are free and open to the public.

Pamela Dolan Cool Davis
Rev. Dr. Pamela Dolan. Courtesy photo.