News media contact: Thomas S. McAnally· (615)742-5470· Nashville, Tenn.

By Deanna Armstrong*

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In the farm crisis that swept the country in the 1980s, nearly a half million family farms went out of business. In the last year farm commodities have once again fallen dramatically, forcing many others off their farms.

Participants gathered for the 14th annual Town and Country Consultation sponsored by Saint Paul School of Theology and the Heartland Network heard story after story about the struggles of the family farmer and rural America.

They read a letter a nine year old child from Nebraska sent recently to the President Clinton: "I am wondering if you could help me because I am worried. I want to farm when I grow up. My Dad had to work another job so we could pay our bills to keep the farm. It makes me sad because I never see him. My grandpa has to sell part of his farm, and that makes me sad too. My grandpa, dad and me too just want to feed people. We're good at it.

"Here's what I know--farmers are having sales because they can not live off the prices so low. I bet a lot of farmers would still be farming.

"Would you ask more people to care about the farmers who raise their food? Pray for us to help us get through this tough time. And we will pray for you to guide us."

The consultation suggested ways churches could provide care for the farmers in their communities. The primary issues rural ministries face are the shrinking of rural communities, the closing of schools, hospitals and factories, the graying of rural populations, the corporate buyout of farms during the farm crisis and the changing face of poverty in rural areas.

Social and emotional problems go hand in hand with the financial problems facing farm families today. Judy Heffernan, director of the Heartland Network, told participants that many times farmers will blame themselves and see themselves as failures. They withdraw from family and friends and become depressed, sometimes to the point of becoming suicidal or physically ill.

Statistics show that people who live in rural areas are twice as likely to experience depression as in urban areas. People in rural communities are also much more independent and much less likely to ask for assistance than people in urban areas. Suicide rates are high, especially among senior citizens.

Joan Blundall, associate director for Seasons Center for Community Health in Spencer, Iowa, had extensive experience with providing support for distressed communities during the farm crisis of the 1980s. She said the current crisis is more severe because of the fast drop in pork and grain prices. "People are in shock and denial," she said. "They don't know how to deal with it because it came too quickly."

Rural families are often so tied to the land they will do everything they can to keep from leaving the farm, she continued. Sometimes they take second or third jobs to supplement income, putting severe strain on marriages and family relationships.

Blundall said the most common reactions are depression, anger and grief. Depression often manifests itself in symptoms like not wanting to get up in the morning, believing that one has no control over life, not seeing any point in trying, believing that others don't care and cutting oneself off from family and community. She said that in 50 percent of the couples who came into her clinic for marital counseling, the root problem was severe depression.

When prices drop as low as they are currently, farmers can't make a profit and are forced to borrow heavily to stay on the land or are forced to sell out. Blundall said the along with the loss of the farm comes the loss of identity and self-esteem, the loss of relationships, community status, and sometimes even the loss of health due to severe stress. The effects of the loss last a long time after people have left the farm.

Heffernan said the church can help people work through the grief of losing their land. Walking beside people who are experiencing the loss of their farms or holding celebrations of praise like a blessing of the land can be very powerful first step in the grief process, she said. "We can listen, we can care. We can show support."

Blundall said it is critical to provide space where people feel safe to get through the ordeals they face. "We need to be able to ask, 'What are you feeling that you are not saying to each other or to yourself?' We must listen to the lives of people, read between the lines and hear what they are not saying as well as what they are saying," said Blundall.

Heffernan said families in crisis or transition struggle with a sense of belonging. She said the church can play a vital role in honoring the memories and telling the stories of the land and its people. She said that rituals can be a very strong vehicle for tying people to the land and the community. Liturgies can be a powerful tool to the allow group involvement and give language to what people are feeling so they can deal with it.

The church can provide opportunities for people to come together as community and channel their energies into creative projects. Dr. Ed Kail, chair of Town and Country Ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology, suggested that familiar activities like pot lucks, painting Sunday School classrooms, planting community gardens or organizing volunteer in mission projects can help the community members take their minds off their own problems.

The church can also help network people to resources that can help with physical or emotional problems or employment opportunities or career training. Today's communications technologies can link people to a multitude of resources where they were isolated before.

Kail said the church must also be an advocate for social justice. "Probably 70 percent of our churches are in rural areas, but we are all impacted by this current crisis. The cost is not just the loss of family farms and the rural communities, the cost includes environmental degradation, food safety and security, health and quality of life in farming communities, and the dislocation of people from the rural communities and the resulting increased urban problems. The faith community has a crucial role to play in intervention and response to the devastation of our farm communities."

March 29, 1999

*Armstrong is a Kansas City, Mo.,-based correspondent for United Methodist News Service.