A chilly Tuesday morning with a misting rain caused the annual Blessing of the Crops event to move from its usual outdoor spot at Hunter Cattle into the covered, open-air barn at the Stilson farm, but that didn’t lessen the crowd of about 200 from participating in a rite of coming spring in Bulloch County.

Sponsored by the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce and presented by Morris Bank, the bank’s Market President John Roach welcomed the group.

“As we gather for the Blessing of the Crops, we recognize the tireless efforts of our agricultural community – the backbone of our region's prosperity. In partnerships like this, we reaffirm our commitment to support sustainable farming practices and ensuring the vibrant future for Bulloch County's agricultural heritage.”

Joey Fennell, a patient peer advocate at East Georgia Regional Medical Center, asked the group seated at tables while enjoying breakfast to break into a large circle – a prayer circle – inside the barn and then offered the invocation. 

“Gracious and eternal God, creator of all things. We gather here today on this soil to acknowledge you as the source of all life. We thank you for the rhythm of the seasons and the promise of the harvest. We ask for your blessing on these fields and the seeds planted within. Grant us the right amount of gentle rain and warm sunshine … Strengthen the hands of those who work this land and give them wisdom, patience, and safety in their labor. Help us be faithful stewards of the environment you have entrusted to us.”

Several attendees then shared their own brief prayers, asking for a safe and prosperous farming season, including Carolyn Ethridge:

“Lord, thank You for all in our agriculture community,” she said. “Bless them and keep them safe. We don't know all the needs, but You do, and I pray, God, that you'll just touch their needs in a special way. We thank You again for all that You do in our community.”

Following the prayers, Dr. Johnathan Smith, pastor of Pittman Park United Methodist Church, kept the faith theme as the event’s keynote speaker.

“We're blessing the crops, the seeds that have been sown or being sown,” he said. “And in that, we are admitting that without God's help, all of our work, all of our labor, it's in vain … Because none of us here have the power to make a seed germinate. None of us can command a plant to take root that pushes through the soil and reaches out toward the sun. None of us can control the timing of the rain, the danger of drought, the power of the wind, the threat of disease, or the mystery of a harvest that turns out worse or better than we plant …

“The work that you do matters. It is sacred labor. It's not just farming, it's stewarding the earth, it's feeding people, it's sustaining livelihoods, it's caring for creation, it's partnering with God's ongoing work providing daily bread …

“And today as we bless the crops, we're doing something that might feel simple or routine, but it is deeply spiritual. We are naming what is real. That all that we have in this county, in this world, in this place is a gift. And the knowledge passed down from generations of men and women and families who've worked, the ground is a gift. That every meal in some way is a gift of grace to us all. 

“And farmers, you know this better than most. You understand things that the rest of us so easily and so often forgets. You understand patience because you know you can't force God's time.”