Come bless our Community Garden Sunday

Tomorrow will be another huge Sunday at St. Paul's. The youth of the parish will lead our worship at 10 am. After worship, I will do a Q&A in the Chapel with anyone who is interested.

Then let me invite you to the opening of our community garden. We will bless the garden at 1 pm. 

This is an amazing project. Although the official opening is Sunday, a dedicated group of parishioners and Canterbury Fellowship university students have been working hard and planning the details for weeks. Earlier this week they began preparing the soil for the Spring planting (the photos were taken Friday). 

Major thanks goes to The Rev. Neal Halvorson-Taylor for his extraordinary work in casting the vision, corralling our resources and organizing our team to make this a reality. 

The Vestry in April approved the plan and appropriated $2,000 for start-up costs, and several Vestry members have been invaluable members of the planning and planting team. We have also asked for assistance from the Diocese of Virginia, and we welcome the involvement of other Episcopal churches in the vicinity.

This is not just any garden. The location is on Grady and 10 1/2 streets, in a predominantly African American neighborhood. The property owner has invited us to build this garden as a ministry to the neighborhood and has made a five-year commitment to us to allow us to use the property as a community garden. We hope to grow food to give to the food closets in Charlottesville, and build a green place in the neighborhood where people can gather. We still haven't named the garden -- that will come, and ideas are welcome.