Go(o)dSeed

Av Josh Armfield A central focus of the Good Seed Project is to practice compassion for our neighbor. But the question then arises, “Who is my neighbor?”. It is the same question Jesus was asked 2000 years ago by a young teacher of the law wanting to know what he should do to gain eternal life. After Jesus´ reply “Love God and love your neighbor”, the young man, wanting to test Jesus, asked simply “Who is my neighbor?” Isn´t this a typical question? Like asking, “what is the least I must do, and still get what I want?” You could say easily that sacrificing one´s life, safety or comfort for another, let alone for a stranger, does not come to us naturally. But what is Jesus´ answer? Typical of Jesus, he doesn´t answer him directly, but tells a story instead. And the hero of the story is not what this young man would have expected. Jesus tells of a man that was beaten and robbed on the road to Jericho. Two devout Jewish priests, one by one, passed him by without offering even a word of ki...

  A Transformative Journey: Finding Purpose in The Good Seed Project Av Mariam  Tsutskiridze In the quaint town of Luleå, my life took an unexpected turn three weeks ago. I had traversed through moments of doubt, lost faith, and a myriad of challenges. Desperation led me to a moment of prayer, a plea to a higher power for a sign that something greater existed. Little did I know that the answer to my prayers would manifest in the form of a project that not only revitalized my spirit but also became a beacon of hope for those around me. Before stumbling upon this project, I had grappled with my faith, at times forgetting that God is not merely a comforting thought but a tangible force in our lives. The skepticism lingered as I cautiously approached this newfound opportunity, wondering how I would fit into a project grounded in shared beliefs. Yet, from the moment I set foot in Luleå, something changed within me.   The atmosphere of this place, filled with genuine pe...

Written by Oussama Echchalim      I arrived in Lulea nearly three weeks ago, and life here has been a striking departure from what I'm accustomed to. It's like experiencing the opposite end of the spectrum. The city exudes tranquility; there aren't many residents, and the weather is remarkably cold. This is in stark contrast to Casablanca, a city characterized by its high population density and constant noise. In a way, I believe that's precisely the point. It's why I chose to come here. I could have applied for projects in other countries with more cultural similarities, but I deliberately chose this path. I yearned to live and experience the extreme opposite. So far, life here has been incredibly fulfilling. Josh, Elisabeth, and I engage in a variety of activities in Sundet, namely gardening. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we prepare dinner in EFS church. The community meals that we share are a open and everyone is welcome. Even many individuals on the fringes of soci...

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.   So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.   The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.   For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Cor. 3:6-9 In June and July our previous volunteers said their goodbyes to this place after investing much time, effort and energy into trying to cultivate a more just and peaceful Luleå. When they first arrived here last fall they started with the harvest. And they were able to see the abundance of the garden even though they had no part in planting or tending it. But as the project progressed they also sowed seeds and planted, tended and watered. This work obviously was done not just literally in the garden but also in the life of the community here and in the lives of many i...

The first Go(o)d Seed Project is over. At least for Valeria and me.  Let's see what we accomplished in the second half compared to the first one.  We had an average of 22.9 people on Tuesday evenings (first part: 24,9) . Despite this, we had 116 people (first part: 112) from 22 different countries (first part: 19) . Some people could have loved it because 29 people (first part: 27) came more than five times.  In addition, 61 people attended for the first time.   We are pleased to report that on Thursday, a total of 70 persons (first part: 66) visited Mötesplatsen. We had an average of 13.5 persons attending (first part: 17.1) . Nonetheless, we had guests from 15 different nations (first part: 9) . In addition, we had the pleasure of welcoming 27 newbies (first part: 17) . We did, however, greet 14 persons (first part: 20) more than 5 times.  We welcomed an average of 4.45 people during open church (first part: 6) . However, we are delighted to report th...

Since the beginning of the year, we could notice (in my opinion, rapidly) how the days atmosphere changed from darkness to brightness. We were able to enjoy already some beautiful days full of  brightness and warm sun rays. I could feel the change in myself too: the motivation to get up faster and the energy during the day.  It´s a big difference to what we have experienced in the winter time here in Lulea. And also the landscape changed much: monotonous white snow deserts became colourful landscapes and slowly, unnoticed and secretly, new life emerged and blossomed in all its splendour. But before all that happened, we were already giving plants the chance to live when there weren't even the right weather conditions outside. The snow and the cold did not prevent us from already starting the gardening season and so Josh, Maksym, Alicia and me (Valeria) sowed together our first seedlings. We formed small cules in the soil, which was in small pots. We had to take special ca...

 "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise" - Victor Hugo 6 months of snow, 3 months of dark days and a period of coldness are going to end. Instead, we can once more feel the sun's warmth on our faces. We can observe that folks are enjoying themselves by sitting outside. We are now able to walk along a path that we haven't been able to do for months. It feels like a fresh start in life.  Such darkness was something I had never known before arriving in Sweden. I truly believed that everyone was joking with me. But no. It was dark by 1:00 p.m. On cloudy days, it seemed as though there was no light at all. You needed to motivate yourself because you got tired.  However, you manage to survive because you are aware that the sun will rise again.  Days with sunshine were rare during this period. After two weeks of no genuine sunlight, I recall being in church when the sun came out. Valeria and I ran outdoors. We had just been standing in the sun for a few...

“We don’t have time to sit on our hands as our planet burns. For young people, climate change is bigger than election or re-election. It's life or death. "  -  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez You could assume that this will be another text about climate change where you will learn facts and I will discuss how terrible everything you do is. But no, I just want to show of the reality.  It is really tough to change our whole living into a climate neutral way and, as some could say, "live poorly" after everything we own and have. For the past few years, the globe has been constantly changing. From Paris to Stockholm, we may go by plane in two hours for even less than 50 euros. By train, it would take us an additional 20 hours. We can request a 15-minute delivery if we neglected to buy milk. And with the aid of Amazon Prime,  items from all over the world can arrive the following day.  By doing so, we are able to select the finest from 1,000 aircraft businesses, 20 variet...

For the authors of the Gospels (however much did they disagree with each other) and the early Christian communities (however different they were), the shared meal was at the centre. The major change happened in the understanding of the nature of God and his presence - God moved (to overgeneralize) from the temple setting to the setting of a common meal. As we read from the Gospels and NT scholars, Jesus himself saw the importance of meals together and praying together with his disciples. And the breaking of bread was the most intuitive ritual to express the simplicity of God and communion. The author of the 4th Gospel writes: Jesus says to eat the flesh and drink the blood of a "Son of Man"(a Semitic phrase meaning human, person, man), probably meaning to accept and take him as a person, accept God through him as a normal human being. Our ancestors ate manna from heaven (a miraculous act of God, who still maintains the distance between him and humanity) and died. But through ...