ARMENA, Alta. – BSE is the biggest crisis to hit the Prairies, yet it seems to be ignored by most churches, said a Lutheran pastor who is trying to organize a church response to the problem.
“We’ve got a crisis in our community and no church is making a public response to it,” said Bill Harder, who invited producers to his church office to help him better understand the issues. He said BSE is the problem that must be addressed or the church is irrelevant.
The financial crisis caused by the discovery of a second animal with BSE in the U.S. in December hasn’t been raised in his local ministerial association meetings, nor during a recent provincial Lutheran church meeting.
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For the past three months Harder said he has heard a growing cry for help from his parishioners and from the local community.
“It’s been a growing angst. The stories I’m hearing are of increasingly deep stress,” said Harder, the pastor of a two-point rural parish in central Alberta. He developed a special service and gospel readings to help his community get through the drought two years ago. He still gets requests for information from those services.
Harder said his goal for dealing with the BSE crisis is to let people know they are not alone in their hurt and there are people available to talk and listen.
“I want to do something to give strength to people to get the people to where they need to be.”
For some farmers it may be the realization that they can no longer farm.
Daryl Skaret, who farms in Armena and works for a local feeder association, said he sees a bleak picture.
“I’m not seeing a great quality of life when I drive around to a lot of these farms,” said Skaret.
He told Harder the church must offer people hope that things will improve.
It was a sentiment echoed by Otto Streberg, who said farmers need faith and to feel there’s a reason for the events.
“They have to concentrate on the blessings in life,” said Streberg, an order buyer for two large southern Alberta feedlots. He hasn’t bought any animals since the beginning of January.
Ron Hamilton, an organic producer from Armena who sells his produce directly to consumers at farmers’ markets in Edmonton and Calgary, said every week a traditional farmer stops by his booth to talk and watch the growing number of people buying organic food from Hamilton.
“They say they’re not having fun any more,” said Hamilton, whose direct marketing has isolated him from much of the BSE hurt.
Since the second case of BSE was discovered in December, sales have been better than ever, he said.
Keith Stollery, an Armena farmer, said he recently bought another quarter section of land and is thinking of trading in his combine for a newer version, but has also thought about selling his farm.
“I’m prepared to even consider getting out,” said Stollery, who added he’s not convinced this is the time to quit farming, but it’s an option.
