WORD OF THE WEEK
BACK in 1994 I went to work on a Kibbutz called Afek in the north of Israel.
Kibbutzim, as they are known, operate under the premise that all income generated goes into a common community pool.
Kibbutz Afek ran a cotton farm, amongst other enterprises, and I remember driving a small Massey Ferguson with a large hydraulic cage on the back to collect the cotton, tip the cotton into a large compressor, and then trundle back a good mile or so for the next load.
I always remember the John Deere cotton pickers with their rotating spindles which took the cleanest cotton from the plant without stripping it entirely.
It was a great experience being part of this working community.
In these challenging times, rural villages and our farming friends know how to do community well.
One farmer that wrote an article in our own Derbyshire Rural Chaplaincy news said: “We have been very fortunate to have amazing farming neighbours; the farming family is very extensive and we’ve been very grateful to ours over the years”.
Of course, every community has its ups and downs, tensions and disagreements and moments of coming together.
Yet, it is in community that we discover the goodness of God and grow and learn together.
As a rural chaplain, it is a privilege to learn from the farming community with their unique character that speaks clearly to me about the value of community and pulling together to get through challenging times.