gather: Michaelmas in the orchard
Apple picking, fresh orchard-to-press cider, & redemption in community
At Michaelmas-time, or a little before,
Half an apple goes to the core…
Welcome, friends. I’m Kristin: a Pacific Northwest artist, mom, & farmer offering support for seasonal, local, liturgical living. Together, we’ll explore the agrarian heritage of the Church calendar and ideas of sacred time & sacred place.
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For the past few years, I’ve hosted a Liturgical Life group. We’re a diverse gathering - of all ages, from a variety of denominations, learning alongside each other and working to graft the traditions of the liturgical calendar into our own varied circumstances.
Michaelmas marks one of my favorite times of the year, but to be totally honest - I slid into it feeling exhausted. One kiddo was having oral surgery (totally planned, but nonetheless, a point of stress); my departed mom’s birthday was arriving, making for bittersweet feelings of loss (she and I shared close birthdays, so growing up, it was always a really special time of merrymaking); and we were at the cusp of entering into our busiest month on the farm, leaving my head spinning.
Now, each of us has this ever-changing litany of “all the things” - and that little partial list above doesn’t hold a candle to the stress of other lists, whether from my life history or from yours.
Nonetheless, that was the moment I found myself in as Michaelmas approached: but the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve held to the article of faith that community deserves intention.
When I was younger, I used to fret & fuss about trying to make sure every single detail would be just right, that I would need to call forth the perfect mindset of clarity, that I could only manage to be part of community events if the waters in my life were calm. (If I had stuck with that outlook, I’d eternally be waiting for calm waters!)
But year after year, I’ve practiced a different mindset: just do it anyway. Do we need healthy boundaries to tend to our individual and family needs? Absolutely. But when do those boundaries serve us well, and when do they actually hinder us? These are the questions I’ve had to ask myself over the years, anyway - when I found myself pandering to my inclinations to such a degree that they were actually hurting me, not protecting me. (Oh, how they love the guise of protection, though!)
As a lifelong introvert, it’s really startling to find myself feeling that community involvement IS self-care. Yes, we need to discern what we can or cannot sustainably do; but the more I take the risk to lean into community, even when I’m exhausted, the more I find my inner life grow.
All that to say: Celebrating Michaelmas with our Liturgical Life group, right in the midst of…well…real life - was healing to me. God is relationship, and God works through relationship. I found myself held, found wounds being tended to and healing, just through the magic of sharing a Michaelmas evening in the orchard with friends. I was running late and frazzled, and they were nothing but loving and excited.
(Another lesson for me to note: my pride gets in the way a lot. It’s not up to me to curate anything to perfection - I can make the space available, but it’s the relationships that breathe life into the whole experience, through the grace of God).
I wasn’t hosting an event - I was receiving one.
So, friends, here’s a peek into our Michaelmas evening in the orchard, making fresh-pressed apple cider, eating an amazing spread of Michaelmas fare, and sharing in the complexities of our lives - together.
From orchard to press
We have several apple orchards on the farm - most are there to provide apples for our CSA members, but we have an Espalier orchard closer to our welcoming meadow & barn. This little orchard has come and gone in productivity over the years, but the past few seasons, it’s been incredible - so, it’s a great place to enjoy u-picking apples.
Since Michaelmas is the traditional time to brew apple cider, we decided to bring our hand-crank cider press1 (!) out of the barn loft and make some fresh apple cider…straight from the orchard to the press. Because it takes a fair amount of time to press the apples and then cook their juice with cinnamon, etc., we started our evening together by heading straight to the orchard to fill our baskets.