St. John's Blesses the Plots on Rogation Sunday

On Rogation Sunday, May 17, a festive rite occured immediately after the 10:00 a.m. service, as the altar party led the whole congregation, followed by the choir in song, out the door and eastward a couple of hundred yards to the Morrow Plots. Prayer, hymnody, and a blessing express our ancient hopes for a good growing season on God's green earth. This year the gates of the plots were opened for us so that we could proceed inside the enclosure.
The Morrow Plots, located in the heart of the campus at the University of Illinois, are the oldest continuous agricultural research fields in the United States. Established in 1876, the Morrow Plots Site was designated a National Historical Landmark by the Federal Government on September 12, 1968.