Peyote has been the Sacrament of Native Americans and Mexican Indians for more than 6,000 years, and today there are over 250,000 adherents of Peyotism, but the survival of this precious plant is in grave danger.
Peyote has a limited geographic range, being found naturally only in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Peyote is one of the easier cacti to harvest, having orderly rows of soft fuzz where other cacti have thorns. The unfortunate criminalization of Peyote use and cultivation in the United States, has served to exacerbate reckless harvesting in the wild, with no thought for the survival of the species. Once lush Peyote fields have been greatly depleted. Peyote is more abundant in Mexico than the United States but has been listed as endangered by the Mexican government since 1991. Therefore, anyone who partakes of the Holy Sacrament Peyote as part of their religious practice should consider becoming actively involved in its propagation and welfare.
Grow, Peyote, grow from sea to shining sea! This is not an impossible dream. Twenty five years ago people said what we have now was an impossible dream.
Rabbi Matthew S. Kent, President
The Peyote Way Church of God
The Peyote Way Church believes an essential and inseparable part of our religious practice is the growing and stewardship of our Holy Sacrament. Our objective is to grow as many healthy Peyote cacti for spiritual use as we can. This enterprise requires dedication, commitment and patience, as it is a fragile plant and needs twenty years to mature from seed to usable size. We named one of our greenhouses the Grandchildren’s Greenhouse. The Peyote grown in that greenhouse is for our grandchildren’s use when they are adults.
For over four decades, the Peyote Way Church has survived on a shoestring budget through volunteer labor and frugal innovation. However, as Church clergy and infrastructure age, funding has become of highest urgency.
The Peyote Way Church is launching a campaign to raise $100,000 over the next year to finance its ongoing commitment to Sustainable Peyotism into the future.
With your vital support we can do this! Help us save Peyote from extinction, and ensure that future generations can also benefit from this Holy Sacrament.
