Sojourners Magazine: September-October 2014

THE WARS IN Iraq and Afghanistan have led to an unprecedented number of veterans with post-traumatic stress. Experiencing the horrors of combat leaves wounds to body and soul that do not easily go away. The demons of deaths seen or caused are always ready to haunt, and too often alcohol or suicide becomes the way out. While the wars may end, their effects linger.

In this issue, Bethany Spicher Schonberg (a Pennsylvania farmer, Mennonite pacifist, and former Sojourners intern) writes of farming as a way veterans have found to begin healing, including one who volunteers on her farm and has become a friend. From rural farms to urban gardens, there is something about the warm sun, rich soil, and growing plants that provides a mission and a sense of purpose.

As this issue goes to print, we are celebrating the life of Sojournersassociate editor Elizabeth Palmberg, who died of cancer on June 23 (see “Cherish Each Moment,” June 2014). She was 43. Prior to coming to Sojourners in 2002, “Zab,” as she was known, was an English professor at Kenyon College and Scripps College, when, as she described it, the Lord smote her upside of the head and instructed her to go seek a career working for a progressive Christian nonprofit. Lucky for us, she found Sojourners. Join us in giving thanks for Zab’s life and in cherishing each moment.