DMZ Compost Piles Grow Together

This morning when I went to the coffee shop that had been collecting coffee grounds for DMZ gardens there was none outside. Inside I got a couple of bags. They said they stopped putting them outside in the barrel and started to throw them in the dumpster because they were not being picked up often enough. I asked them about how often I would need to stop by to keep up with the coffee grounds. They said about every two days. So if I want to maintain this good source this is what I will do. After going there I took the coffee grounds with some bags I had from home to the DMZ gardens compost piles. There with some help I put the grounds on the piles and covered them with wood chips from the pile we have stored there. I got this all done before it started to rain and turn cold and windy. With help the job was done.

Now tonight it is cold and windy and I had a meeting of our group that is trying to stop Marquette University from supporting an unjust war and teaching military values contrary to Gospel values. It felt right that the gathering was at Casa Maria, a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality, dedicated to serving women and children in need. The Catholic Worker mission has always been two-sided: doing the works of mercy, and working for peace and justice. Actually both sides are one side of our faith. As the Jesuits often say but seldom practice, we need to have “faith doing justice.” Works of mercy and nonviolent actions are soil and worms; they just go together and need each other. Working together we can do both.

In a conversation today I was reminded of an understanding of evolution that makes more sense to me than “survival of the fittest.” Creatures that could adapt to the environment are the ones that survived. For example, the mighty dinosaurs disappeared from the face of earth for some reason, but the lowly worms, very adaptable to environment, survived for hundred of thousands of years. I believe it is like that with works of mercy and creative nonviolent actions. If we can combine both, we are at our best and will thrive and grow.

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