UALC Community Garden: April 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Work Session & Bible Study this Saturday, 4-27

We'll thin our spring crops & start putting down the new beds for the summer crops. We'll start around 9:00 AM, break for Bible study around 10:30, and resume work around 11:00. Come on out.

As usual, you're welcome to come out for the Bible study by itself. We'll be in the prayer room at the Mill Run Church. Come to the door of the south (Garden) side of the church.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Work Session & Bible Study this Saturday Morning, April 20

We’ve got a lot of weeds to pull, and an appropriate Bible passage to study—the parable of the Wheat & the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43). There is a study on that passage here if you would like to get a head start.

As usual, we’ll start working at 9:00 AM and start the study at 10:30 AM.

Feel free to just come for the study if that’s all you have time for. We’ll be in the prayer room inside the Mill Run Church. Come to the side door on the south (garden) side of the building.

See you there!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Jesus Spotted at the UALC Community Garden

No, you haven’t missed the second coming, but there are signs His real presence at the garden on the Mill Run campus.

God has turned very little into a whole lot. 10 or 15 pounds of seeds were turned into into 39,000 pound of fresh vegetables over the last five years. More than 17,000 Lbs. of those were grown last year alone—in spite of a draught. That looks lot like Jesus. See Matthew 14:13-21.

Folks shunned by society have been blessed. Most of those vegetables fed the homeless and hard-pressed. Some supported Doma's freedom ala cart, a ministry that helps women escape prostitution by training them in a catering buisness. Others were used to build relationships with immigrants served by the English for Speakers of Other Languages program. That sounds a lot like Jesus. See Matthew 9:10-13 and 25:34-40 .

We regularly see great outbursts of beauty. Plain old dirt transfigures into radiant collections of plants three times a year. That also sounds like Jesus. See Luke 9:29 .

Most important, people are getting to know God and communities are growing. Children from this and other churches are learning about God at the garden. His word is being spread there through Bible studies and the prayer path. A community of believers has grown along with the garden and its work. That community has even been connected with similarly tasked believers on the other side of the world! All that looks a lot like the way Jesus described the Kingdom. See Matthew 13:31-33, Mark 9:36-37, Luke 8: 4-8, 11-15, and John 10:16 .

So what do we do with that? We can’t ignore Jesus when he shows up in our own back yard. There are several things:

- Come to Him. Come pray in the garden any time. There are Bibles in the plastic bins under the benches at each end of the garden. Or pray for the garden and those it serves from home.

- Work with Him. We have work sessions every Saturday Morning, from 9:00 AM until noon. Come when you can and stay as long as you are able. We have all the tools you’ll need and you’ll meet some very friendly folks.

- Get to know Him better. We have short Bible studies at the garden every Saturday around 10:30 AM. There are also garden themed studies at http://ualcgarden.blogspot.com/2013/04/garden-themed-bible-studies.html

Monday, April 15, 2013

News & Prayer requests from our friends in Austrailia: God is answering our mutual prayers

We’ve been praying for—and been the subject of prayers from—the gardening group at the North Ringwood Uniting Church in Melbourne, Australia since last December. Their garden ministry with the same mission as ours—growing produce for the hungry.

We heard from them last week. They are approaching the end of a good growing season. Their summer crops are done and they are now ready to harvest broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, onions, silverbeets, potatoes, and pumpkins.

They pass on the following prayer requests:

“We would appreciate prayer for the workers in our garden. We are all over 60 years of age and time and energy can be a problem. We also need patience and tolerance as we work with the intellectually disabled group that come to our garden.

I would also appreciate prayer as I am speaking at our church, as part of a series where we are exploring the local missions and ministries that we are involved in. The idea is to brainstorm any fresh expressions that we can bring to our ministries.”

This mutual prayer support works. They have had a very good year as we prayed for them, and their prayers that we get the resources we need have certainly been answered (think about the seeds, tiller, refrigerator, and the national Scotts grant that have come our way recently). God has blessed both them and us through our mutual prayers, so let’s keep it up!

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Garden Themed Bible Studies--Updated, April, 2017

Looking for a garden themed Bible study? Over the years we’ve posted quite a few on this and related blogs. We’ve collected them here because their varying dates and locations can make them hard to find. The update is at the beginning of the list.

We hope they’re helpful to you.

Praying about rain

John 15--Growing God's Joy

John 15--On the other hand

John 15--Don't fire the gardener

John 15--Unfruitful Branches, part 1

John 15--Unfruitful Branches--Part 2

John 15--pruning, part 1--What is pruning"

John 15--Pruning, Part 2--We all need pruned

John 15--Pruning , Part 3--Removing obstacles to God's light

John 15--Pruning, part 4--Pruning through adversity

John 15--Pruning, Part 5--How to respond to pruning through adversity