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| "CC-365" Archives | | |
Please click on the above link to find an indexed list of our archived issues. |
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Issue #68 "Back to the Garden"
| March 21, 2013 |
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Greetings!
This issue of Creation-Care 365 is dedicated to every person who finds him/herself out in a garden more often than not during these first days of spring. It's also dedicated to every congregation that finds itself -- in the face of ever-increasing urbanization/suburbanization -- growing food, flowers, and/or habitat for members of God's broader creation. (As Grace would have it, it seems that more and more congregational gardens are popping up in our Conference with every new growing season! Please see the " Creation Keepers" section below for a great example of this in Lakewood, WA.) Whether you're a new gardener or seasoned, community-garden organizer, we hope that you'll find helpful resources and inspiration in this issue. To all gardeners: your efforts are so very needed in a world that hungers for access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods -- a world that also hungers for living, "green" oases. God bless you and your communities with verdant abundance!
Grace and Peace be with you,
Creation-Care Projects Coordinator
PNW Office of Connectional Ministries
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SPECIAL SERIES
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Queen Anne UMC (Seattle)/The Well
FOOD, FAITH, & PLANET series
This Saturday, March 23, 2 p.m.: Joel SalatinActivist & Farmer Joel Salatin believes that his work is grounded in a theology that honors the earth, the animals he husbands, the crops he grows, the people he feeds, and the Creator of all. Come hear Joel Salatin at The Well on March 23 at 2 PM. Come, be part of Queen Anne UMC's "intimate space for big conversation."
For tickets and more information on the entire series, please visit Queen Anne UMC's website.
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 Creation Quote | |
From Hildegard of Bingen
(1098-1179)
Benedictine abbess, poet, scientist, healer, artist, & theologian
"Glance at the sun.
See the moon and the stars.
Gaze at the beauty of earth's greenings.
Now, think.
What delight God gives to humankind
with all these things. . . .
We are to work with [nature].
For without her we cannot survive."
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Small Steps... for Greater Good
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Garden Hotline
Are you looking to make your home or church garden more creation honoring? Consider this free service (based out of Seattle Tilth): "For over 20 years, the Garden Hotline educators have been providing information and guidance at no cost to home gardeners and landscape professionals. Our goal is to educate the public on ways to reduce waste, conserve water and other natural resources, and minimize  the use of chemicals in your garden, landscape and yard, while creating a healthier environment and community." You can also go to the Garden Hotline's website to discover free classes and download-able resource guides. The Garden Hotline(206) 633-02249 a.m. - 5 p.m.Monday - Saturday
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Tools for Renewal
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Two, Free Tools for Growing Community/Church GardensTool #1: " Return to the Garden: The Disciples Guide to Organizing Community Gardens" The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has produced this download-able resource "to help your congregation start a community garden on or near your church property." Here's a small sample of this resource's contents:
- How to organize your community garden
- Community garden time line
- You want to get your hands dirty but you're not sure where to begin
- Companion planting guide
- How to handle "pests"
- Improve your garden's soil
- Rainwater harvesting
Tool #2: " Sow a Cool Harvest" Kit Interfaith Power and Light has created a special "Sow a Cool Harvest" gardening kit for congregations. Click on the link above or image below to request the kit download. Each kit includes the following sections: - Organic Gardening Primer
- Model Faith Garden Stories
- Creating a Raised Bed Garden
- Making Your Own Worm Composting Bin
- Top Ten Beneficial Insects
- Difference Between Seeds
- When to Plant
- Earth Blessings
- Regional Garden Resources
- Other Things You Can Do
- Advocate for a Healthy Farm Bill
- "DIRT!" Film Screening Flyers
- "DIRT!" Discussion Guide
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| Lectionary Links | Some excellent, on-line sermon helps -- most of which coincide with the Revised Common Lectionary:
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| Events & Actions | Spring-Summer 2013
- March 23 (Bellevue, WA): First UMC Bellevue's 4th Annual Earth Friendly Gardening Seminar Plant Exchange
- March 23 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Joel Salitan on Sustainable Farming
- April 10 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Mike Wallace on Climate Change: Myths, Facts, & Us
- April 14 (Eugene, OR): First UMC Eugene hosts Ched Myers, speaking on "Responding in Faith to Climate Change & Ecojustice"
- April 19 (Seattle, WA): Faith, Hope, and 20 Years: Earth Ministry's Anniversary Celebration
- April 26 (Beaverton, OR): EcoFaith Recovery's Ecology of Grace & Justice series - "Organizing the Biocommons: Where do we go from here?"
- April 28 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Bill McKibben on Coal, Climate Change, and the PNW
- April 29 & May 6 (Seattle, WA): University Temple UMC's 2-part discussion of the book The Great Disruption: How the Climate Crisis will Transform the Global Economy, led by Mike Wallace
- May 8 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Charles Montgomery on Urban Design and Happiness
- May 15 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Norman Wirzba on Food, Faith, & Creation
- May 28 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Robert Paarlberg on the Politics of Food, Food Policy, Nutrition, and Feeding the World
- June 18 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Marion Nestle on Public Policy, Nutrition, and SNAP
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Creation Keepers
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Lakewood UMC Lakewood (WA )
 Jackie Lownie -- a member of Lakewood UMC -- recently sung the praises of the garden and the gardeners at her church... and we just had to learn more! The following comes from an article, "Community Garden Project at United Methodist Church in Lakewood," by Sherry Benic: Lakewood residents with green thumbs are invited to sow their own personal garden plots at the United Methodist Church at Lakewood. The Pea Patches are [four] feet by eight feet in size, ...The Pea Patch gardens are [low-cost, $10-15] to area residents, and "farmers" are asked to donate a portion of their harvest to the FISH Food Bank located in the church. [Lakewood UMC's] Curt and Debbie Warmington are spearheading this project, along with help from Pierce College, with an eye to creating a permaculture garden. Plans for the grounds include fruit trees, a labyrinth for meditation, and a self-sustaining garden.
Then we went strait to the source of this project, and heard this from Debbie Warmington:
My husband and I decided to get back into gardening several years ago... I found a flyer about a permaculture design class that seemed to cover all the stuff we were trying to get into - basically how to be self-sustaining using whole system design. One of the requirements to receive a Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) is to do a design project. After we received our PDC , we started to use the principles in our food bank garden at the church. When Kelda Miller, our PDC teacher, taught a second class, she asked if we wanted a group to do a design at our church. We jumped at the chance.
After many meetings with the group of 4 gentlemen and a variety of people at our church, they created a design that would highlight our church's commitment to food justice. The 5-year plan starts with the completion of the community garden. We will then be working on a "food forest," which will include fruit trees, berries, and other plants that will work symbiotically as a system that will help keep the soil fertile and the plants healthy. We will eventually have a 'Snack and Go' path that will encircle our property. There will be several areas that highlight different things -- the food forest I mentioned previously, a children's garden, a labyrinth that will include plants from the Bible, and a meditative memorial garden with a water feature.
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