Blessing of the Bees

John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4), a sign that God provides for those in need. God still provides for those in need, in Immanuel Lutheran's case, by providing honeybees to produce honey for our food pantry patrons. So, how did our church come to have several bee colonies? In 2019, one of our church members, who is an amateur beekeeper, made a proposal to the church council. He would put a bee swarm capture box in a tree behind the church, and if a wild colony moved in, he would set up a hive box, manage it, and then donate honey from it to the food pantry. Much to everyone's amazement, a swarm did move in, and that first hive yielded about 30 lbs. of honey.

In the years since, more wild bee swarms have joined the church's apiary, which has grown to five hives. The honey harvest varies yearly but has consistently been enough to provide 60 bottles of honey for Christmas food baskets and 70-100 jars for food pantry customers. There's also usually enough left for the congregation and church visitors. Nature adds the pollen and nectar the bees need, church members save and donate their recycled jars and bottles, and the food pantry volunteers distribute the honey to those in need. God does indeed provide. Now, all we need are some locusts!