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Exploring the sacred unity of life, humanity and Earth within a single,
unfolding Universe.

Genesis Farm website

November/December 2024

Dear Friends of the Farm,

I hope you are well and have the support you need to navigate your lives in
these challenging times.

We are in very new times! What has fundamentally changed is the greater
availability of a sense of “deep time”. What we mean by that is the relatively
new sense of the 15 billion year process of the origin, and evolution, of our
Universe. Equally important is the realization that our human existence is
intertwined in this process.

This letter is to update you on the last few weeks at Genesis Farm as we
approach an ancient astronomical observation of the time between the autumn
equinox and the approaching winter solstice. In some Gaelic cultures living
above the equator, it was called Samhain. It marked a radical seasonal change
transitioning from autumn to winter.

For peoples living below the equator, it heralded a transition from spring to
summer. But these times and events are still dominated by “western” cultures of
the recent classical period of history. Until recently, we weren't aware of
anything else. Our cosmologies were invented out of what we knew about time and
space which, for many of us, were based on the biblical narrative of creation.

Samhain is a recent western commemoration of the “mid-time” between autumn and
winter. While peoples of non-western cultures were also aware of the changes,
their interpretations were often quite different, and often cruelly suppressed
during the period of colonization.

On another note, this past August, Genesis Farm piloted a new program exploring
the "fundamental elements of a new cosmology”. It was created because it was
requested and organized by young adults living within this bioregion. It was
designed as "an introduction or a refresher" on the basics of Earth Literacy,
which has guided our educational mission since our founding in 1980.

The basics of Earth Literacy , as offered here, were rooted in the works of
cultural historian, Thomas Berry, mathematical cosmologist, Brian Swimme, Albert
Einstein and the scientific evolutionary story of the Universe.

This new “Earth Literacy" emerged through the pioneering work of McGregor Smith
in his work in higher education at Miami-Dade college in Miami, Florida. Equally
important, it was funded by the Foundation he established there to further these
new understandings.

With the collaboration of St. Thomas University, in Miami, Fl and the creative
foresight of Dr. Joseph Iannone of St. Thomas University, 'Earth Literacy’ was
given legitimacy through accreditation in higher education.

Integral to this was the 'deep-time' collaboration of a grassroots movement
originating at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. This movement, created by
Emilia and Harry Rathbun, gave birth to Creative Initiative, which morphed into
Beyond War. This movement, with its spiritual depth, provided what was needed to
give further substance to the evolution of Earth Literacy at Genesis Farm. It
flourished here , especially through the efforts of Jean and Larry Edwards and
countless other members of the Beyond War movement.

Primary and integral to this history was the vision and efforts of Gerald and
Patricia Mische, founders of Global Education Associates (GEA). Their efforts
gave early recognition to the thinking and writings of Thomas Berry. They
published his writings in their Whole Earth Papers. Their work was essential to
analyzing the inadequacies of ‘the national security straitjacket’ through their
publications and grassroots organizing. Juxtaposed with the sentiments of the
first astronauts, they clarified the inadequacies of the prior cosmology, which
was simply stuck in a worldview no longer adequate to further life on this
planet.

All these threads are woven into the story of Genesis Farm. The efforts to
integrate them have given the context and perspectives we hope to provide to the
young people of this region. Their lives depend on the transformation of
inadequate cosmologies which they believe are at the root of so much addiction,
hopelessness and violence.

Since August we have offered three sessions on “Introducing or Refreshing the
Foundations of a New Cosmology". More sessions are desired. This season, between
autumn and winter, provides new opportunities to explore more deeply into the
inexhaustible depth of our origin and identity with the Universe itself.

The retrieval of memory, embodied in the Universe itself, is integral to our
mission. Memory is in danger of being erased and replaced by robots and
artificial intelligence at a scale hardly imagined when Genesis Farm first came
into existence in 1980.

We are a tiny core of committed people and volunteers who are working toward the
restoration of the lands, infrastructure, archives, and history of Genesis Farm.

We are deeply grateful for your support. Right now, we would benefit greatly
from your financial assistance, or in any ways you can contribute, to the
maintenance and restoration of Genesis Farm.

For Earth,

Miriam MacGillis
Founder and Interim Coordinator


Genesis Farm
41A Silver Lake Road , Blairstown, NJ 07825
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