Asia Pacific – “To Market, To Market”: St Ignatius’ parish holds Farmers’ Market
After a two-year hiatus, the Farmers' Market of the Gardening Group of the Green Movement of St. Ignatius Parish, Singapore, returned to Sacred Heart Hall on 24 September as part of the parish programme to celebrate the Season of Creation. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Farmers' Market was popularly held twice a year.
Fr Colin Tan SJ, the parish priest, led the opening prayer and gave the market a spiritual start. Also present was His Grace Archbishop Marek Zalewski, Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Singapore, who has always shown great support for initiatives to care for the environment.
Fresh vegetables and fruits were sourced from small-scale farmers north of the border in Pontian. Also, in addition were parish-grown fruits and herbs. Group members also spent months growing decorative potted plants and air plants from cuttings; these plants were sold at the market.
There was even a corner to encourage children to grow their plants. They were each given a pot, a small spade, some soil, and the plant of their choice for a small fee. It was an effort to make the younger generation experience what it means to do their small part in caring for our common home.
"Everyone plays a part in taking care of our environment, no matter how small. It is important to create awareness of ecology. We are together in this worthy endeavour. I am so happy to see so many people coming to this market," said Patricia, head of the organising committee of this year's market.
Typical of any church event, home-cooked food was available on sale. These were made with loving care by the group members. Even Fr. Colin participated by making and selling "Fr Colin's Herbal Tea", which according to him, consisted of a brew of Moses in A Basket (Tradescantia spathacea), wolfberry, and pandan.
The founding members of Food Loops were on hand to promote their composting programme. People could sign up to get their food waste (only raw vegetables and fruit peels) collected and composted in specific locations. In addition, sawdust (to prevent a bad smell) and a container were provided where compostable waste can be stored at home before collection can be done twice a week.
Several other events have been organised for the Season of Creation this year at the parish level, including a tree planting event with the National Parks Board of Singapore. These events are a wonderful start to the parish Laudato sí Action Plan. It is hoped that the parish ministries may celebrate the annual Season of Creation in a cohesive and symbiotic way.
Source : Jcapsj.org
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