Bishop Nienstedt experiences first hand "stewardship of the land" during farm visit

by Sr. Mary Charles Mayer, RSM

Bishop John C. Nienstedt had the opportunity to visit the farm of Fred and Dolores Berg in Sanborn, MN on Memorial Day and was genuinely inspired by the work that farmers like the Bergs in the New Ulm diocese are involved in. He felt that it wasn’t just a sense of duty or obligation, "I really thought it was something that would enhance my experience of the diocese and give a greater insight into the people that make up this local church."

Fred and Dolores Berg’s farm is a centennial farm in Sanborn, MN of a little over 1000 acres and has been in their family for over three generations. Fred and his brother farm it together and they also rent some acreage. The day Bishop Nienstedt visited, the Bergs were planting soybeans. He was fascinated by the sophistication of the computerized machinery and the planting process involved.

When asked to give a description of his experience, Bishop Nienstedt reflected that: "It gave me a great insight into how hard our farmers work, the fact that farming is a family project And it’s something they take real pride in – it’s a vocation. It’s something that’s handed down from one generation to another. I see more clearly the feeling of regret that the family farm is now a thing of the past. The world economics that we have today are forcing small families to go out of business – it’s sort of like Wal-Mart, in that bigger is presumed to be better."

When asked about how his experience of farming would effect his ministry Bishop Nienstedt felt that it gives him a better insight into the vast majority of people that are in the diocese and the people he is speaking to. He said: "I think that the Gospels are replete with agricultural images. Just this morning the Gospel was on "the harvest is great but the workers are few" and we have to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send in workers. That made a big connection with me. I think that this is a place where we should be experiencing lots of vocations to the priesthood and religious life because, as I tell people, farmers are close to the earth and therefore close to God. God has given us this land, it’s a gift. We don’t own it, we are stewards of this land. And so that must be the church’s concern too."

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has pointed out the importance of stewardship of the land and proposed that the Bishops put forth a pastoral letter on the rural church and address some of the concerns about agriculture.

When asked what he would like to see happen in the Diocese of New Ulm regarding stewardship, Bishop Nienstedt responded that he had a better eye for reading the document put out by the USCCB due to his two years of experience in the Diocese of New Ulm. Now he has a greater interest and a greater sense of investing himself in such a document. "I think the contribution that I can offer to the Church in the United States is more insightful because of the experiences that I have had here. I think the longer I’m here, this question of the stewardship of the land, care for the environment, reaching out to assist farm families reflects a legitimate vocation in our church and in our country. I think those issues will become more front burner themes for me. More and more I will find myself investing in these concerns."

The Bishop indicated that farming is a part of our American history and our culture and it really should have the support of all our people. He stated: "If we lose the rural farms, we’ve lost a great deal and I’m not just saying that nostalgically. There’s a part of the culture here that is very important and that needs to be preserved."