Even in an agricultural state like Arkansas, it’s not every day that you see two priests in collars operating farm equipment.
But on the morning of Aug. 16, passersby watched as Father Rajasekhar “Shekhar” Chittem, pastor of Church of the Assumption in Atkins and St. Leo the Great University Parish in Russellville, along with Father Omar Galván, administrator at St. Andrew Church in Danville and St. Augustine Church in Dardanelle, cut and baled hay in the pasture behind the Church of the Assumption in Atkins.
Last year, parishioner Louis Schmoll came up with the idea to reduce lawn care costs and fundraise for renovating the parish’s religious education classrooms by planting and selling corn. This year, Church of the Assumption’s agricultural efforts were expanded with the planting of hay in a plot beside the corn crops.
Last year, Father Mauricio Carrasco, now director of spiritual formation at the House of Formation in Little Rock, found himself in Schmoll’s tractor planting corn. This year, pastor Father Chittem and former associate pastor Father Galván gathered in the field with Schmoll in August to cut hay, using Schmoll’s equipment.
“We have a city block behind the church called the Cotton Yard,” Schmoll said. “And historically, all we did was mow that every year, all year long. No benefits, just money going out. Last year Father Mauricio planted corn, and we put some roadways in so we could have our Heritage Festival.”
Schmoll said parishioners realized they could grow, cut and bale hay to be used as decorations for the annual Heritage Festival, and they could also sell it to farmers in town.
The Church of the Assumption is part of a city-wide organization called People for a Better Atkins. The organization works together to fundraise to make improvements around the town. One of the ongoing efforts of PBA is to restore an iconic piece of sports memorabilia.
The Hog sign is a well-known fixture on Crow Mountain off I-40 outside of Atkins and can be seen for miles. The bright red Razorback is accompanied by the phrase “Go Hogs Go!” above it, and “ATKINS” below it. The sign was put on the side of Crow Mountain in 1964, and periodic repairs and touch-ups have occurred over the decades.
Another effort led by the PBA is to help fix sidewalks across the town that have fallen into disrepair.
When Schmoll mentioned that he would be cutting the hay, Father Chittem volunteered to cut it.
“So I brought my equipment down,” Schmoll said. “But like Father Mauricio, Father Shekhar is so intelligent he hardly needed any instructions at all. He’d never been in a tractor before. I gave him a few simple instructions on how to operate it and what to do. He turned and repeated it back to me to check. I said, ‘That’s it.’ He said, ‘OK,’ and took off,” Schmoll said with a laugh. “… There’s no challenge too big for him.”
Soon after, Father Galván jumped in.
“Father Omar came down to help Father Shekhar and drive the rake tractor,” Schmoll said.
“It was definitely a new experience,” Father Galván said. “I grew up in a family who, in Mexico, were farmers, but I never got to do it myself. And it brought me back to those roots. But at the same time, it was obviously difficult, having never used that kind of equipment. … I drive a stick shift, so it was closely related to that, but I was definitely worried. I didn’t want to do any damage — that is expensive equipment,” Father Galván said with a laugh.
Father Galván said that while he was the associate pastor at Church of the Assumption last year and wanted to help with the corn planting, he had already been reassigned by the time the planting began.
“So I got invited to do it this year, last year before I left,” he said. “I came back to finish the job, you could say. … It’s been a small but great fundraiser for the parish.”
Father Galván said cutting and baling hay served as a reminder of how involved God is in our lives.
“The way that we are involved with the works of the earth really shows how God manifests his love for us,” he said. “God doesn’t manifest his love in an unnatural way. He does it very, very naturally.”
Farmwork has taught Schmoll to trust in God and recognize that there are things he can’t control. Schmoll said that while rain kept the hay from being optimal quality, he’ll still be able to get use and money from the bales.
“Before we could get it baled, the good Lord decided that the world needed a drink, so it rained on us,” he said. “The quality goes down when it gets rained on, and it got rained on twice. To make the most money, it has to be in square bales, but it was past that kind of quality. So we just round-baled it up, and we’re going to use it for decorations during the Heritage Festival. We haven’t made any money off of it yet, but I’ll probably sell those bales and get something for them.”
This year’s Heritage Festival Saturday, Oct. 5 will highlight Irish heritage in the parish, featuring a traditional Irish breakfast, guest speakers, bagpipe and Irish dance and music performances, Irish wolfhounds and vendor booths. Money earned from the festival will be split between the PBA’s efforts to repair the Hog sign and renovating religious education classrooms for the parish.
But for Schmoll and other parishioners, it’s about more than raising money — it’s about growing closer together in community.
“The Hog sign will be a continuous part of our Heritage Festival for many years to come,” Schmoll said. “… Father Mauricio told us when we started out that it’s not necessarily about the money. If we can learn to work together, if we can learn to respect each other’s views, and work with people on something you might think is small, it can become more significant, like working together to help those in need.”
