∞  About Dayspring                ∞  About Earth Ministry Education                ∞  About Creation Care/Restoration                ∞  About The Simple Gifts Project Dayspring Dayspring might be described as 171 acres of land in the rolling hill-country of Maryland.  We make attempts to be objective about many phases of our church's life, knowing full well that we do not wholly succeed.  But when it comes to Dayspring, we do not even try. We love all her ways: the woods, the fields, the trails, quiet spots and spacious stretches, the lessons we have learned there ...  It has made contemplatives of us all, even those who take a dim view  of the mystical life.                     Elizabeth O'Connor, Call to Commitment, 1963 Now, over 50 years since the Church of the Saviour first acquired this farm, (and later added a few acres), Dayspring is still making contemplatives of us all.  At times the fields have been actively farmed, though they are now a conservation reserve, providing old farm field habitat for grassland nesting birds and other wildlife. Over these years, several ministries have come into being on this sacred land. The Silent Retreat Lodge and Inn, built in the mid-1950's, continue to provide the all-too-rare, but deeply necessary sustenance, for spirit and soul - Silence.  Learn more about silent retreat at www.dayspringretreat.org The Wellspring Conference Center, built in the 1970's, provides space for larger gatherings and three semi-independent cabins for day and overnight use.  Learn more at www.wellspringministry.org

The old farmhouse, built in the early 1900's  is the home of
Dayspring Church, an ecumenical Christian Church, carrying on
the tradition of the Church of the Saviour, a widely recognized model
of church renewal.  Today Dayspring Church is an independent faith
community combining a deep life of prayer with active mission and
prophetic witness in the world.






Earth Ministry Education


Silent Retreats and Ember Day Retreats on themes connecting our Christian faith and God's Creation, such as Earth in Peril: A Moment of Grace;  A Rock, a River, a Tree; Opening to the Earth as Scripture;  Seed, Soil, Wind, Fire;  Cup, Bowl, and Spoon: The Celtic Alternative.

Classes for Adults exploring the relationship between our Christian faith and God's Creation and engaging the question of how we shall live given our moment of planetary peril and promise such as The Universe Story and the work of Thomas Berry; Living the Questions of Faith in a Time of Global Climate Change; Finding Authentic Hope; Creative Simplicity.

Classes, Camps, and Retreats for Children providing opportunities for children to experience the wonder and delight of God's Creation.  Read more about our Earth Sunday School "Creek Group" in the Spring Journal 2008 which is available in the download file.

  




Vigils on the Land that encourage us to re-imagine traditional Christian observances such as the Easter Vigil and to take prayer walks on the land such as this one for blessing the Simple Gifts site before construction.






Wilderness Outings to nearby natural areas for day hikes and overnight camping remind us of the wildness of God and of the special role of wilderness in the Biblical stories of our faith.




Telling our Story in poems and written pieces such our Spring Journal 2008 and in sermons like Tell Me a Story (which are available in the download file) allow us to share our faith journey with others.



Creation Care/Restoration

 The meadows, woodlands, ponds, and creek valleys at Dayspirng are a treasure beyond the telling and a sacred community of all life, of which we are a part.  In collaboration with an Audubon Naturalist Society program we regularly monitor the water quality in the creek that runs along our border with County parkland, we monitor and maintain bluebird nesting boxes in the meadow, we remove the most invasive of non-native plants, and we plant native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.  In cooperation with the Dayspring Stewards and the county wildlife ecologist and park personnel we assist with the land conservation hunting program to restore forest habitat heavily damaged by deer overbrowsing.





The Simple Gifts Project

            In this time of global climate change
            how can we live in ways that are light
            in impact, yet abundant in soul, ways that
            enable all life on earth to thrive?

            How can we re-imagine and re-create a human
            presence on this planet that is gospel, that is
            compassion, and that prepares a place for the
            unborn children of ours, and all species, to flourish?


Asking these questions led to our decision to build an Earth Ministry
Center at Dayspring called Simple Gifts.

            ∞  a cluster of several residential and educational cottages
                 demonstrating natural building design and integrated
                 systems of energy flow, water use, and waste use.

            ∞  with space for nature study, arts and crafts, wood
                 workshop and greenhouse, and with surrounding gardens
                 for vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs and medicinal
                 plants.






The Simple Gifts Cottages





                                          East Cottage





                                        West Cottage



Each Staff Cottage is 1250 square feet in size and is designed to provide a gracious and energy-efficient home for a couple or small family.

The cottages have accomplished this in different ways; between them they include the following features: passive solar heating and cooling, well-insulated walls and roof (structural insulated panels/blown cellulose), top energy efficient windows and appliances, insulating window shades, living roof, FSC-certified framing lumber, geothermal heating and cooling, grid-tied and grid-independent photovoltaic panels, solar hot water, masonry heater, oak and cherry trim from trees on the land, earth plaster and milk paint wall finishes, stained concrete slab floors, bamboo floors, fiber-cement composite siding and trim, roof water collection, and landscaping with native plants.

Integration of these features and "simple living" practices have resulted in these cottages being nearly zero-net-energy homes and a delight to live in.

Detailed descriptions of the features of each cottage are available as file downloads.



The Simple Gifts Greenhouse




We have nearly completed building this permanent, four-season greenhouse with a large cistern inside and with attached shed and covered patio for potting plants and storing garden tools.  With this greenhouse we will be able

∞     to start plants from seed for vegetable, wildflower, herb and medicinal gardens

∞     to grow vegetables in all seasons, using the sun's heat in winter.

∞     to store 1200 gallons of water inside, collected from the north roof, for watering greenhouse plants and summer outdoor terraced garden beds below the greenhouse.

∞     to demonstrate green/natural building techniques including straw-bale walls, lime and earth plaster, and rubble trench foundation.  Solar panels will power lights and fans.

∞     to teach children and adults about growing and eating food that is healthy and nourishing for us humans and for the earth.



The Simple Gifts Community Garden


 


As part of the whole vision for the earth ministry center at Dayspring, we cherish the dream of a small, five-acre organic farm.  The farm would be a place to grow fresh organic vegetables, small fruits and fruit trees; a place where inner-city children could pick and learn about fresh food; a place where retreatants could walk and observe first hand the mysteries of seed and soil, growing and tending, harvesting and celebrating the harvest.

In the words of Rachel Rudi, who is sheltering this dream with us,
being with the earth and working with it is all a part of my spiritual growth.  Nature can teach us about living within the cycles and rhythms of the earth.  Seeing these things, and witnessing to others about them, is so important.  Food ia a part of the whole nourishment -- body, mind, and spirit -- this place can offer.