&&&’s Fall 2019
DIY Devotion
"A Seed-Bombing Novena with St. Francis & Friends of Our Common Home"
“I have done what was mine to do, now may you do what is yours.” -St. Francis of Assisi
If you are not already familiar with &&&’s “Street Novena” practices or with seed bombing, we invite you to you to visit the following introductions before beginning the following nine-day “seed-bombing novena.”
Introduction to Street Novenas
Introduction to Seed Bombing
How to Make a Seed Bomb: Many recipes exist and fluctuate according to the size and type of seed. Here is mine (please share yours): 5 parts dry potter’s clay or soil clay with 3 parts peat-free, organic compost, and 1 part or less of native, non-invasive, pollinating seeds (for my region, California Poppies and Gilia will be my seeds-of-choice for fall, with the addition of Cosmos and Marigolds for spring), 1-2 part water (adding more, as needed), a dash of chili powder (to protect the seeds from insect invasion), intuition and further research.
Mix dry ingredients together and add water until you form a paste-like mixture. Roll into two-inch balls. You may want to place the balls on a tray near a window to expedite drying (a day or two).
Putting It Together: What I will be doing this fall (and you…?):
An intention or intentions: that the Global Climate Strike and upcoming Amazon synod will continue to build momentum. That all of us will be moved to protect the exploited, contemplate the creative, nourish the generative: to do what is ours to do. To do what is mine to do.
A saint, canonized or not, to entrust the intention: Saint Francis
Nine days, with start and end dates: Th., September 26, through Fri., October 4 (Feast of Saint Francis)
The practice: a walking novena, with nine days of seed-bombing, following these daily meditations:
Day One: Silence
Day Two: The Green New Deal, the Sunrise Movement, and the Future
Day Three: Canticle Farm
Day Four: Mary “Leo” Leolin Bowerman
Day Five: Winona LaDuke
Day Six: Joanna Macy
Day Seven: Sylvia Earl
Day Eight: Wangari Maathai
Day Nine: Greta Thunberg
I will be offering 10% of my income from these nine days to Canticle Farm, for the renovation of part of their property to sponsor families engaged in the asylum process. I invite you to do the same, or whatever you can offer, either to help support Canticle Farm or some other friend of our common home: https://canticlefarmoakland.org/renovation/
May this novena be one way to creatively respond to our need for an "integral ecology," that is both environmental and social, transforming all modes of violence into manifestations of life and love.
As we are a community of learners, I invite you to please share your seed-bombing wisdom, narratives, suggestions, and resources here.
Please email me if you would like to attend or possibly host an in-person seed-bomb making workshop in advance of a pop-up pilgrimage in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this spring 2020.
*If you have legal and ethical concerns regarding seed bombing, please check with officials and experts local to your area.