The Farm of Peace Newsletter
Farm of Peace and Sufi Spiritual Retreat Center, Warfordsburg, PA
Our Mission:
The Farm of Peace is a spiritual community that
provides love, peace,
healing, nourishment and spiritual guidance
to all of
creation. We seek to bring
peace and healing to individuals -- adults and
children -- and the world by putting into
practice the
Love at
the core of all religions.
Dear Friends,
This is a joyful time of year, as expressed by our new lambs. They are now running, jumping and skipping -- so delightful to see! Our lambing season came and went in a whirlwind eight days -- leaving us with 33 new lambs. All but two are frisking out in the field with their relieved and much slimmer moms, while two are being bottle-fed, a favorite activity for visitors.
We'll have a generous supply of lamb meat this fall, for freezer lamb or eid sacrifices. Contact Rifqa Parrino at 717-573-4722 if you are interested in reserving your lamb.
Even with the bouts of unexpectedly cool weather, our fields and gardens are turning bright green. At the CSA garden, sprouts are being transplanted, and we've already seen some brand new spring turnips on the table! Now is the time to join the CSA and enjoy your fresh produce all season long.
David Wilcox, Billy Jonas, Native Deen, Widad and more! This year's Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival will take place on June 23. It is sure to be a day abundantly filled with great music, music workshops, farm experiences, fun and fellowship. Read below for all the details!
One of the most cherished programs at the Farm is Salima's Gardens of Truth monthly Sufi School. The next session starts with dhikr on Thurs., May 31 and goes through Sunday afternoon, June 3. This is a very rich and rewarding program that offers a deeper taste of Sufi teachings and healing. Salima is just back from her annual journey to Morocco, so it is very likely that she will bring some new teachings for the group, inshallah. Come and be a part of this experience. Contact info@farmofpeace.com or call 717-573-4722 to register.
Change is in the air! We're seeing several transitions at the Farm of Peace. Sabura Myers, our Programs Manager, is moving to Germany with her husband, Abdul Latif. Thank you for your service, Sabura, and many blessings to both. Hamida Silber is our new Programs Manager; welcome, Hamida! Halima Willett is the new Farm Manager. She brings her experience with the CSA garden operations and her love for all aspects of the Farm to her position. Shamsa and Abd'Allah Houck moved into their newly built home at the Farm this past winter. The Houcks join the Davies as homeowners in the residential development section of the Farm. It's a blessing to have more beloveds living on and caring for the farm and the community.
And finally, regarding transitions, this is my final time as editor of the Farm of Peace newsletter, as I will be leaving my position in the administrative office at the Farm of Peace this month. It has been a pleasure and joy to see all the amazing changes that have taken place over the last seven years since I came here. The Farm has truly become a haven for people seeking peace, respite and a community connection. There are so many wonderful beloveds who have come through our doors from all over the nation and the world in this time, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to share time with you in so many ways. Though I am departing the admin desk (inshallah, you will be lovingly served by Rifqa Rebecca), I won't be leaving the community and I look forward to seeing you all as you come to experience the blessings that abound at the Farm of Peace.
Peace and blessings to all,
Halima Reilly, Editor
Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival Coming June 23
With Native Deen, David Wilcox, Billy Jonas, Widad and more!
Everyone come, bring your friends and family to the Farm of Peace on Saturday, June 23, for a day of fun, community and music! This year's Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival features an amazing lineup of talented performers, so come and let your heart sing and celebrate with friendly, fun people who care about each other and the earth.
The vision of the Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival is to carry the message of Unity -- a message of Love, Peace, Mercy, Justice and Freedom for all people -- through this heart-opening, family-friendly event.
We are excited to welcome back internationally known Native Deen as our headliner band. Young and old alike will enjoy Native Deen's high-energy performance. The group had everyone rocking in the barn last year!
Billy Jonas, family entertainer, is back again this year. His unique, mind-bending performance and delightful songs are sure to put a smile on your face and in your heart. Parents and children alike won't be able to resist singing and dancing along with Billy.
David Wilcox, a favorite with our community, will be joining us this year. David has a range and tenderness that is rare in folk music and we are very happy to have him back.
We're also pleased that The Unity Reggae Band, Widad, Michael Ahmed Tyson and Aileen Sabira will be returning for this year's festival. New this year, comedian Katie Sabira Rubin will share her side-splitting humor. The day includes an
edible-plant walk and farm tour, and workshops with Kevin Neidig, Widad, and Music With Michael. Once again, Under One Sun will be our vendor for delicious, healthy, natural foods.
There will be lots of fun and enjoyment for everyone, so bring the family (kids age 17 and under come at no charge) and celebrate music, life and community in a joyous atmosphere of friendship and fellowship.
Admission for the festival for adults age 18 and older is $30 ($35 at the gate). Tickets are on sale, and we encourage you to get yours now online (see link below) or by calling Mu'min at the Farm of Peace, 717-573-4722.
Spread the word! Forward this newsletter to your friends; download the flier and post it on your Facebook page; call us for a supply of printed tickets you can sell in your neighborhood. Please contact Maryam Hand, Festival Coordinator, at 502-648-1244 or marhand@gmail.com.
What's Happening on the Farm
by Halima Willett
Many hands make light work. This sums up my experience of living on the farm this spring. Among the 33 baby lambs just born, we have two that are being bottle-fed five times a day. I have taken on a feeding or two each day, with the help of Amin and my kids, and it brings us such joy. I have spoken to others who clearly are filled with the same joy after spending time with the new lambies. I was reflecting today while feeding them, that if I had to do this every feeding shift, it would quickly become a chore, and not such a joy: but I don't have to do it all myself. The community has stepped in to help. Mu'min and his girls love to take an after-school shift; Rifqa Rebecca has been there from the start, even spending the night when the lambs were newborns; Shamsa takes whole days when she is off work and on weekends; Isa came to spend a few days at the farm to help with all the sheep.
The joy the lambs have brought Jamil has woven its way into his heart and poured out to all of us in his teachings at jumah; Maryam took many shifts, including late nights; Amin stepped in to help with later shifts, too. Guests at the farm especially enjoyed taking time to feed the little ones. And Rifqa Parrino's endless care and love for the moms and their lambs is the real nourishment for them. All the love these little guys receive is quite evident as they come running to jump and play and tumble over us as soon as we come near.
Helping hands abound: many members of the farm circle joined in to help get the pole barn cleaned for the coming seasons. It is well-used space that will soon be lined with CSA shares, host school groups and provide picnic benches and shelter for events and shade for all the hardworking beloveds here when they need a little rest. I am grateful to know we have helping hands, as it always makes jobs more joyful and easy, at least to me.
Allah is clearly the Helping Friend and Divine Orchestrator, and we are grateful for His care, generosity and perfection in the planning and support of all things.
CSA Is Underway!
by Halima Willett
The first sweet white turnips of the season made their debut recently on the dining table at the International Peace Center. Rifqa Parrino prepared them as a delicious spring treat for our workshop guests. For all of you who are anticipating the freshness of produce from the Farm, it's time to sign up now to be part of our 2012 CSA season. A link to our online sign-up page is at the bottom of this article. Join us for a summer of delicious surprises!
We spent the last couple of weeks transplanting the last of the tomato, eggplant, pepper and basil plants into larger containers so they can continue to grow and be ready for the move outdoors in May. We welcomed Sana Akhter as an intern two weeks; she came to the Farm of Peace to experience a connection with farming and to take a break from city life in Chicago. We are grateful as she, along with our local employee, Trish, so gently transplanted all of the young plants into a new home with room for them to expand.
The peas are up! Sixteen 50-foot rows are graced with the lovely leaves and spiraling tendrils of the green peas. We pray that they will continue to grow into maturity and grace your early spring shares. Young lettuces, beets, sweet white turnips, kale, and cabbages are coming up in the field so well. We are watching them carefully, since they are still vulnerable during the colder days that are still appearing. We did lose a few rows of cabbages and broccoli that went out a little too early and did not survive some of the colder nights we had after our warm days in March. We will replace them with more starts that are hardening-off in the seed shed. It was a good lesson in patience.
We are still accepting new members for the 2012 season. Deliveries begin May 26, and continue every Saturday afternoon to Frederick, MD; Takoma Park, MD; Washington, DC, NW; and Falls Church, VA. You can reserve your share via the link below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about the program: CSA@farmofpeace.com.
Orchard Update
by Maryam Hand
We have added several new rows to the orchard, in preparation for continued expansion. So far this spring, we have added three cherries, six pears/Asian pears, blueberries and one red currant bush to the orchard; we plan to add grapes, raspberries, and Asian persimmons in the coming month.
Our strawberry transplants are full of blossoms and we should have a bumper crop, insha'llah. Our blackberries are entering their second season and should produce fruit this year, though they won't hit fruiting maturity for another year. In March, during the Community Nourishment and Celebration Weekend, we transplanted 34 blueberry bushes to the orchard. Thanks to everyone who worked so diligently in the rainy weather to make this happen. We will be transplanting another row of blueberries this month.
The bee-balm cultivation project was successful and we have planted hundreds of these bee-attracting herbs all over the orchard, at the IPC, in the CSA garden and around the farmhouse. We are continuing to propagate comfrey successfully. Comfrey is a healing herb that makes calcium available to fruit trees and also acts as a great soil fertilizer.
Halima Willett's son Kyle has taken an interest in the orchard and helped to dig a hole for a new cherry tree. I guided him in the planting process and we decided that the cherry would be his special project. He proudly placed a stake with his name next to the tree.
Special thanks to Isa Konecki for helping to mow, prune and dig tree holes; and thanks to Amin Mills for giving us some amendments to get our blueberries off to a good start. I also want to thank those who donated the money to buy a tree, grape or berry bush. If you would like to participate in growing the orchard, with either your time, talent or donation money, please contact me at 502-648-1244 or marhand@gmail.com.
Reflections on the Zawiyah
by Halima Reilly
"I've been in zawiyah retreat three times," said a recent student, "and I don't know how it happens, but it always works!"
Regardless of the time a person is able to spend in the zawiyah program, the process always "works": the student's heart opens more deeply, peace comes to her face, a greater sense of trust and resting in God comes to his being. In just a few days, the beloved can return to daily life with a renewed heart and spirit, walking in a deeper alignment with God.
Our zawiyah retreat program offers a time to leave the outside world and to turn to face Allah in our hearts... In a zawiyah retreat, we let go of the old and allow Allah to make us new. Like our Sufi path, it is such a simple process, yet its results are profound and life-changing.
The words above were included in my first "reflections on the zawiyah" in the Farm of Peace newsletter of July 2005. Seven years later, these reflections hold true. Just as the tiny seedlings planted in the orchard years ago have grown to produce the gift of sweet fruit, so the sweetness of growing intimacy with the Divine is a blessed gift for the students -- and teachers -- in this spiritual retreat program. Over the years, dozens and dozens of beloveds have immersed themselves in the sweetness and beauty of the Farm of Peace and opened to touch the real beauty of their hearts.
It is a real joy and a blessing to share the heart's unfolding gifts with the beloveds, to witness their hearts open and fill with love and beauty, to become awe-inspired by the process that brings life-restoring water to the thirsty heart.
For anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to experience the deep peace and transformation that comes from being in retreat at the Farm of Peace, I encourage you to take advantage of our zawiyah program, a real jewel here in your neighborhood (even if you live across the country, we are still your neighbor!). The gifts that await you are immeasurable.
Ya Allah Al Karim, Allah is the Generous, so take your chance to receive from His generosity through the treasures of the spiritual retreat program at the Farm of Peace.
The Kitchen's Bounty
A Favorite Recipe
Rifqa served this delicious dairy-free dessert for a recent workshop group. If you are want to be sugar-free, you could use a different sweetener. The recipe comes via Sarah Schatz at Heart of Cooking. Refreshing!
Blueberry Coconut Sherbet
- 4-6 cups organic frozen blueberries
- 1/2 can organic coconut milk (no added water)
- 2-3 tablespoons raw honey, agave or maple syrup
Add the frozen (not thawed) blueberries to a food processor. Pour in the coconut milk and a couple tablespoons of sweetener. Blend until the ingredients are mixed well.
Place a scoopful in a small bowl and enjoy. Creamy and tasty! Serves 4. If you like, substitute strawberries or other frozen berries or fruits for a different dessert treat!
A New Home for The September School
On a recent afternoon, Eyrie Mills and Zulaikha and Musa Shay joined teacher Eddie Rubin in playing their ukuleles and singing beautiful, intricate songs that they wrote. Plans are underway for the children to hold a concert for their parents soon.
The September School moved into its new space in the loft of the Teaching Barn in April. The children are very excited about having so much room to conduct all their activities. There's a reading nook, a crafts center, an exercise space, a nice big blackboard and plenty of room to gather to play music. Having new books and supplies makes the school experience so delightful for Eddie and the children.
A big "Thank you!" to everyone who donated items and purchased items during The September School's online auction in March. Thanks to everyone's participation, the school is able to purchase new books and supplies, which make a big difference for the children. Everyone involved with the school is so grateful for what the community gave from their hearts to make this effort a success. Thank you for your caring for the school and the Farm.
Thank You!
Your Giving Makes A Difference
Thank you to everyone who gives in so many ways to help the Farm of Peace.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, John and Amin Whalen, pictured here, spent some time cleaning out the sheep pen. Thank you both!
Thanks to Isa Konecki, who helps in many ways around the farm, including helping with the orchard and sheep projects.
Rifqa Zaban-Boylan serves as a regular volunteer at The September School, helping the younger children with math and reading; A'amina Thomason also volunteers, and she is introducing the children to the Arabic language. Thank you!
Latifah Shay gave her time and talent to create the beautiful flier and poster for the Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival. Thank you, Latifah.
Much gratitude goes to everyone who participated in so many ways to make our recent online fundraising auction a success. Thank you all so much.
We're grateful to everyone who gives financially to help the Farm. We welcome your donations to support the work that the Farm of Peace is doing. You may send your check made to "Farm of Peace" to 1212 Haven Lane, Warfordsburg, PA 17267; or call
us at 717-573-4722 and we will take your
credit card information for your donation.
Thank you!
Upcoming Events
May 31-Jun. 3: Gardens of Truth. Join Salima Adelstein for this monthly Sufi School. Study the great Sufi masters, sacred alphabet and qualities, Qu'ran and Hadith, Dhikrs and Wirds, whirling, understanding and writing Sidi's teachings, healing, mentoring and more. Lodging and meals available at the International Peace Center. Call 717-573-4722 or write to info@farmofpeace.com for information.
June 23: Sacred Music: Unity Music Festival. Come to the Farm of Peace for a day of music for the entire family. There will be a kids' program, special music for kids, a farm tour, workshops and more! Kids 17 and younger come free -- adult tickets are $30 pre-event and $35 at the gate. Purchase tickets at www.farmofpeace.com
Zawiyah Spiritual Retreat: Give your
heart the
gift of walking more deeply in proximity to
God.
Zawiyah retreat program is ongoing at the Farm of Peace. Call the Farm for
information and to register: 717-573-4722.
Dhikr: Sundays, 4 p.m. & Thursdays, 7 p.m. Sufi healing
circle for healing of body, mind, heart and
spirit. All are welcome! (Potluck supper follows Sunday's dhikr.)
Jumah: Every Friday, 1:30 p.m. Gather in
community for prayers and teachings from the
Qur'an
and Sidi's writings.
Salima Healing Seminar. In this
individual
three-day seminar, Salima offers a
unique opportunity for deep healing. You'll
receive
individual assessments and healings with Salima,
along with complementary sessions and
bodywork. Call the Farm at 717-573-4722 to
schedule.
Farm Stay: Enjoy a mid-week getaway in the country. Guests age 6 & older are welcome to stay at
the farm (in the IPC) and
enjoy the woods, fields and animals in a
peaceful,
secluded environment, restful and
revitalizing in all
seasons of the year. Call 717-573-4722 to
make your
reservations. The Farm of Peace is a member
of the
Pennsylvania Farm Vacation Association,
www.pafarmstay.com.
