5. Rural people have a special calling to be stewards of the natural resources
God has placed in the world.
6. WorshipingZministering congregations of Christian faith should be available
to all rural people.
7. Policies and practices of the American government and economy have often
contributed to personal and community disadvantage in rural America and
these areas of neglect should be redressed through policies geared toward
justice and fairness.
8. The old six-mile boundaries of community, the driving paradigm of the
settlement period, is no longer functional. The 30-mile (or county) model
seems to be emerging; so, we are called to work diligently to form and model
new communities (Jung et al.).
We recognize that Nos. 3 through 6 are uniquely the duty of the churches. Public
policy should remain neutral in these areas. In items 1,2 and 7, the framers of public
policy should take the lead, with the churches as voices around the table. And in No.
8, there seems to be a need for close cooperation.
But then there is a history of close cooperation. An example is the old summer
institutes that were held on many land-grant college campuses and were designed
for the rural clergy. There is the heritage within USDA of an officer assigned to relate
to the rural church offices in the various denominations. And there is the more than
40 years of cooperation among the denominations and the National Association of
Conservation Districts for the development and distribution of materials related to
the celebration of Soil and Water Stewardship Week.
Vocation
Most of us can trace the creation of the position we hold to the 1908 Country
Life Conference called by President Teddy Roosevelt. Perhaps it is time—and past—
for another such conference. It is my perspective that there is no common vision giving
direction to rural public policy. As a consequence, there seems to be a patchwork of
policies, which often counteract the effectiveness of other policies or even work at
cross-purposes.
Across the years, I have met many persons who initially got into agricultural
education, research and/or policy formation as a response to a sense of calling or
vocation—a kind of secular ministry. Some have been worn down by the bureaucracy.
Some have failed to keep the faith. Others have quit in disgust.
I want to encourage you to re-dream those old dreams. . .to become
revolutionaries.. .to network with others to create a forum in which a new dream
can be formulated.
62