Garden Harvest Night for Wednesday July 18th

I am writing you about tomorrow night's(July 18th) harvesting. We are without Ray and Mary Van Leeuwen for 2 Wednesdays while they visit their family in California. This is a big loss to our Wednesdays. So it is that we need all of you willing people to come out tomorrow! As always please join us even if you must insist you are no gardener. All who fit in that category can simply combine abilities to make one composite gardener between us : ) If you come to the garden you have a great chance of really becoming a gardener which could be fun. Come when you can and stay until you need to go. 

Tomorrow we will have iffy weather so I am making a few adjustments. I will be there unless it is actually raining. Hadley and I will be there at 5pm this time to start the picking and harvesting in case the weather comes early. Hopefully we can get to the bigger items that way even if we get rained out for the herbs. Please join us at 5 or 5:30-p as usual. Jeff will come and fire up the grill at 5 45p when he arrives from work. We will provide hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a dish to share if you are able to and a chair or blanket to sit on. 

I have not been over to see the tomatoes in the past few days so we will only be picking those if they have suddenly become ready. There is zucchini and peppers, okra, a few more green onions and maybe one more batch of beans. We should have lots of need for people to pick herbs as well. The garden is enormous now. If you haven't looked in awhile, you will be amazed. The efforts of a small army of APC's kids helped to make that happen this year and that is exciting.

We will have the sprinkler out with the heat so come in your suit and bring a towel and change of clothes. I often forget one of those last two things for my own child so I am writing that to myself!

We are always collecting gently used clothes and shoes for all ages to take down to Calvin Presbyterian's clothing closet. The clothes will be taken down at the same time as the vegetables on Thursday mornings. We have been made aware that Calvin will be starting a daycare for 2,3 and 4 year olds in the fall. We have taken one load of toys. learning items and books down already. They were really delighted to receive them. We hope we can help and encourage them further before they launch in the fall. If you would like to purchase or donate a usable toy, game, puzzle, book(etc) to this effort, we could accept that from you at the garden or at church on Sunday. As most of you know our own church and also Calvin also operates a food pantry. Both are needing donations at all times of the year. Please bring any donations to our own church office or any donation for Calvin to the garden and we will get it down there. We are always available to pick up these items from your homes. We mean that. We know it can be too tricky to transport things for a variety of reasons. Let  Jeff or Karen Barnes know in person or at i2thee@hotmail.com.

We are having many good times at the garden this summer as we find we have a mission field right on our church property and certainly right up the road. Come join the harvest and the chance to show the love of Christ to our neighbors and the body at Calvin Presbyterian. We pull the vegetables with the hope that someone will know God cares for their present situation but also that their neighbors(us!) care for them as well.

Blessings,

Jeff and Karen Barnes

Mission Partnership: Calvin Presbyterian

We are still collecting any used clothing or shoes to bring down to Calvin Presbyterian. We can pick that up from you directly or you can bring it to church or the garden night. This need like food never stops, especially for children.

We have also found out that Calvin Presbyterian will be starting a daycare/preschool in the fall. We will be collecting items that would be useful for that as well. This could be new or gently used toys, games, puzzles, books,etc. Anything we could supply them with is something they don't have to buy. We can also pick up items like this from your home or you can bring them to church or the garden night. I am in the process of finding out more specifics about this new program. This might be a fun way we could bless Calvin church itself which is doing much for many with little.

Our own church as well as Calvin Presbyterian operates a food pantry for area people who are hungry. Please bring any food donations and now they will get to a place where they can be used.

THANK YOU!!

Summer Garden Fellowship -- Now with Sprinklers and Picnic Table

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.

Wednesday Garden Summer Fellowship

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.