Southdown

I share the following, with friends and colleagues, as it touches issues that go deep into the history of the land. Harmful stewardship and agronomic practices, injustices, displacement of peoples and bloodshed, have all contributed to our current situation concerning agriculture and the land. The land cries out for its redemption. So it’s calling also for a covering of prayer.

Five years ago, we would have surrendered the tenancy of our farm because there was no longer a living to be made from agriculture. However, God very clearly showed us through several completely independent prophetic words to "remain connected to the land". Our immediate interpretation of this was, on leaving the farm; we should maintain relationship with those still involved with the land. We then realized, in spite of the fiscal circumstances, God's desire was for us to remain on the farm and trust him. Being thrown together by the devastating effects of BSE, Foot and Mouth and an increasingly detrimental world market, 6 of us local farmers, some of whom would no longer be farming today, developed a simple working model of cooperation that enables us to survive. None of us are able to maintain a living purely from the agricultural holding we farm, but diversification projects and other non-agricultural income, enable us to remain connected to the land. So here was the realisation that this word God had given us was not just for us, but also for others in agriculture all facing similar pressures. While continuing to stand in the position God has given us, in spite of the circumstances, and contending the current trends and the destructive agenda of principalities and powers opposed to God's intention for the land, I decided to explore further what God meant by "remaining connected to the land". I drafted a plan for a personal thesis based around the theology of agriculture. What is God's primary intention for the land? What future does God intend for agriculture? My intention is to do this in the context of a groupwho gather from the sphere of agriculture. Supporting one another. Praying for the land; crying out to God with repentance, intercession and a deliberate intention to "stand in the gap". Hearing God's perspective. Discovering models of agriculture, which express His ways for the land...(First fruits, Sabbath, Jubilee). Declaring God's purpose. Prophesying what we hear to the land. Being agents of healing to the land. Exploring justice for the land. Addressing the relationship between landlord, tenant and local community and a more cooperative model of land management.