February 2025 NEWSLETTER

Dear Ranchers of Peace,

It was on January 25th that everything came together.

It was Laughter, Humor, Joy, and Happiness: The Golden Age Is Now–a workshop and celebration of Leigh Taylor Young Morton's 80th Birthday (with a total of more than 500 people in attendance in-person and online). The event was also a fundraiser, raising $100,000 (and counting) toward developing a sustainable animal presence on the ranch.

The event was gorgeous. A chandelier flanked by two hanging floral installations was interspersed with chiffon drapery flowing between the rafters of the ceiling. Wreaths made by volunteers with Windermere bay leaves and Italian pine were accented with dehydrated orange slices and hung on every door. A fallen manzanita tree was installed horizontally on one wall, with photographs of Leigh hanging from burlap ribbon. A matching manzanita, with its smooth red bark, decorated the stage, surrounded by white orchids. And finally, when the luncheon began, floral centerpieces in the color palette of orange and pomegranate were brought in to adorn the tables.

Everything sparkled, including the ceiling lights of the carriage room that are now, with the exception of one (sorry John), all working. The sparkle was seen in the eyes of the participants as they entered, surprised to see a barn transformed. Surprised that what once (not too long ago) had been a space filled with equipment, trash and clutter had magically become clean and organized. And surprised that the formerly crowded aisles between the barn bays could now be used as places to gather, stroll, and set up a table of delicious food.

Of course, it wasn't magic that transformed the barn. It was hard work and a lot of fun. It was volunteer hours put in by ranch residents (you may have read about our 25 Bays of Christmas in our last newsletter), visiting volunteers, and guests. It was dump trailers driven to the Santa Barbara Transfer station–with even the youngest Jolly Ranchers doing their part—Noah pushes the button to raise the dump trailer and Elmer pushes it to lower it. Everything was touched, cleaned, moved, organized (almost), and given a home or sent on its way with gratitude for serving its purpose.

Volunteer hours measured in the hundreds. Probably approaching one thousand if you think of how much Christi Mider did to coordinate catering, event rentals, assisting teams, table layout, stage decoration, and more. Thank you, Christi, we are deeply grateful for you and your incredible ministry.

So now what?

A few days after the event, as of this writing, the barn looks mostly back to normal. The rental company retrieved the chairs, tent, and high-top tables. Marborg came to pick up the porta-potty. We've swept, put things away, and found a few lost items. And now we're on to what's next.

It's time to pick up with learning about the animals and how to move forward with the funds that were raised. And, as with everything we do, it's not so much about the funds as it is the people. It's Gary Brown, a rancher from Texas who donated enough money for two herds of cattle and has the know-how to help us get set up for sustainable rotational grazing. It's Karl Fledderman, an organic farmer turned minister, who has offered to help. It's Daryl Donohue, a family member of Leigh's who is a regenerative farmer and soil health educator. And it's Ruth Bleau, who runs Blue Oaks Ranch in Grass Valley, CA.

In a way, the money is the easy part, now, what we need are the people who know how to do what we want to do. And they are coming forward.

And what is it that we want to do?

The vision is clarifying amongst the Ranchers of Peace and the broader Windermere Community. What is emerging is the stewardship of a sustainable ranch, with regenerative food production as a central aspect. It's nutrient-dense food for the bellies of those who live at the ranch and guests who visit... and then for the broader community. I am asking myself, "How much food can we grow this year?" and I intend to find out.

There are currently 13 Ranchers of Peace, AKA people living at Windermere. Other than a year-long stint as a volunteer teacher in Honduras, I haven't spent much time living in community. I am amazed at how quickly we have become close and at how quickly we got to the point of, "I would do anything for these people." We take care of each other. We support each other. We love and forgive each other and we have each other's backs. This is not a community that's based on perfection–on having to always be happy and get along. We have differing perspectives. We sandpaper, we get triggered–and we have such a loving foundation that our capacity to have conversations on difficult topics runs deeper than any annoyance, disappointment, or disagreement. For me, this is the golden age, and we are living it together.

Now, with thanks to Leigh, and all those who have donated money and expertise, our next opportunity is upon us: to incorporate animals into the ranch and community in a sustainable way.

P.S. We shared in one of our previous newsletters, "there is still more to do." That rings true now more than ever! See our opportunities for service at the bottom of this email.

There was a gentleness present in the room as people chatted lightly before the meeting, and assistants tended to remaining details. The barn was freshly charged from the previous day’s event for ministers to gather in person and online for the first MSIA Global Minister’s meeting of the year.

First, we came together for an ordination, and the loving flowed as we greeted our new minister. After giving an enthusiastic welcome, live from Windermere Ranch, Debbie Roth invited long-time Windermere resident, Ted Drake to call us into the Light. As the group came into a stillness, my mom, Lori Bullock, joined Ted on stage and stood with him as he spoke.

The rain started during SEs. Like a wave, it washed across the roof of the barn from one side to the other, and back again. I chanted and I let that sound wash over me. I can’t describe that sound. No audio track could have replicated it. At some point even hail joined the symphony. As Spirit poured forward this blessing, I thought of the fires in LA, and felt the healing of this rain on many levels.

Then we had the treat of a joint sharing of the meeting dedication and an excerpt from the Ministerial Handbook by two newer ministers, Joshua Iwuoha and Michael Iwuoha. The brothers happen to be the sons of Prince and Patience Iwuoha, two beautiful leaders in the Nigeria and global MSIA community.

The day was also special for me and long-time minister, Angela Bell—as it was our birthday! And we had the gift of sharing our ministerial blessings at the meeting. Angela’s blessing, along with her vibrancy, spunk, and pure joy, touched me deeply. When it was time for me to speak, I hardly could, but in the best possible way. I felt the Light so present, both literally in my eyes, and energetically everywhere. This was the first time I had publicly shared my blessing since not long after I received it, and I was just giddy to share with everyone.

Although I don’t remember all the updates of the meeting, what I do remember is how the energy washed across the room like the rain on the roof. There was a deep healing offered and received by many. There was my mom, who was circling the room humming and attending to (dancing with) those who needed it, joining on stage when necessary. There was Leigh’s planetary blessing for all the planet had been experiencing recently and specifically for southern California. There was every single minister who shared, whether in the room or online, with that beatific Light-struck glow (non-dramatic, but distinctly present) that seemed to make its way to all. John spoke of the changes and challenges the world is going through right now. He shared the value of us coming together as ministers, reminding us that “we are the peace in the storm,” and that “there is nothing that is ever here on the planet that we cannot handle in the consciousness that of the beloved of God.”

We gathered after the meeting to eat delicious baked goods prepared by our very own Windermere ranch resident (and amazing gluten-free baker!) Amanda Gries, in our pumpkin-turned-carriage barn made possible by Christi Mider, the ranch residents and so many folks who volunteered here, I couldn’t help but notice something different about that day. It wasn’t just the changing weather patterns, but the way we came together. And despite the barn being more than a bit too cold, there was a coziness and comfortability present. It felt like family.

If you follow Windermere on Social Media (and if you don’t, but would like to you can follow us here), you know that in 2023 and 2024, there was a lot of coming and going amongst animals on the ranch. We got new cows. Animals were born—a cow and goats. We added chickens. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum the loss of goats and a longtime resident steer named Bully. One animal who persisted was Joker, our beloved donkey.

Given the hitch in his getup, we had our wonderings about Joker's health and we called upon a visiting vet to assess him. We learned he was living his best life, only to find out later from another vet that may not be the case and might be in pain.

Joker remained consistent through it all! Consistently posing with guests for photos. Ready and willing to eat his favorite food, apples. And always with a great attitude.

In November of last year, the resident Jolly Ranchers (and some visiting ones) held a youth-focused service party along with their moms to groom Joker. We gave him some treats, brushed him, and trimmed burrs out of his fur. He loved the attention and, after the service party, looked the best I had seen him in years. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to do this so that Joker could spend the last month of his life looking radiant!

With incredible gratitude for Joker's Love and Service to the ranch, we said goodbye to him on December 16, 2024.

Please feel free to respond to this email with any heartfelt sharing you have of your experience with Joker or photos you would like for us to upload to this month's newsletter album.

As a step toward sustainable agriculture, we've been evaluating our wells and water. Here's a brief report:

The Peace Meadows Well is up and running again after being down for about a year.

We ran water from the Buddha Rock Well over to the garden to use for watering.

We fired up the Oasis Well (rumored to be our most productive well) for the first time in a decade or so. The well pumped out so much water that it made our well guy's day to see it turn on.

All this to say, we are in flow.

You might be thinking, Wait, didn’t you already clean out the barn for the event in October? Well, yes... and no. Leading up to that event, our focus was on identifying what each bay held and relocating items to their proper places. We accomplished that, as you saw, and hosted a beautiful event.

This time, our goal was to take it to the next level: clearing out the mats in bays that had become homes to things we didn’t want—like mold and rats—and removing items that were no longer useful. We only put back what serves a purpose, and organized it, ensuring everything is now easily accessible.

We could probably create a parody of The Twelve Days of Christmas to capture what we uncovered during the 25 Bays of Christmas. On the first day of Christmas, the barn stall gave to me... but we’ll stick to keeping our association with furry friends with tails to the cute felt ones that hang as ornaments on Christmas trees.

In December, we also embraced the spirit of Service while enjoying the festive season—creating bay leaf wreaths, baking cookies, watching J-R seminars, and gathering together in matching family pajamas to share delicious food. We are deeply grateful for the Windermere Ranch community, which you are a part of, and we look forward to all that the new year will bring.

If you’re interested in visiting us for a day trip or an overnight stay, simply reply to this email. We would particularly love to see you at one of our upcoming service parties to help bring the barn cleanup to completion.

Nota: Las cartas y diversas actualizaciones ahora están disponibles en español! Puedes por favor enviarme un email, si deseas recibirlos en español.

February 2025 NEWSLETTER

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Invitation to Serve