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LET'S TALK GARDENING
Rev. Dr. Karl R. Kraft, Senior Pastor, 3/8/2010

    As I write this column, the snow is blowing at gale force, with gusts up to 50 mph.  I can hear the wind whipping around the dormers of my house and see the snow zipping by the window horizontally.  The temperature is somewhere in the 20s, and the roads are unplowed and treacherous. 

    So, doesn't it make sense that gardening should come to mind? 

    No, it's not wishful thinking or un-timeliness borne of ignorance.  The fact of the matter is that our church may be pursuing a project involving gardening this spring when the season is right.  The prospect is indeed exciting.  At this time, it's in the "suggestion" stage, needing official approval of our Church Council and organization by a person or group in the church.

    But here's where we are at this time.  Our treasurer, Dave Walters, addressed our Church Council just prior to adjournment of the Feb. 23rd meeting.  He said that he had been pondering the question of some possible use for the vacant lot adjacent to our church parking lot (for those unfamiliar with our church: some years ago we acquired a house that was located next to our parking lot and tore it down.  The land was to be used for a new addition providing more Sunday school classrooms.  As of now, that has not happened, and the land remains unused).

    During the Church Council meeting I introduced a program that the worldwide United Methodist Church is hosting in April, called, "Change the World."  The purpose is to engage local UM congregations to start a new program -- or enhance an existing one -- that would directly improve the community in which each church finds itself. 

    Dave put these two things together and came up with his idea: a community garden!  At least half of the property (the half that the house did NOT occupy) would lend itself nicely to being tilled and turned into something productive.  The idea has benefits on many levels:

    o    There is something for church members and friends of all ages to do (even children could pull weeds or pick vegetables).

    o    The produce would be designated for Glassboro's Samaritan Center (our local food and clothing bank), which would assist them in their outreach to those living in poverty.

    o    It would turn otherwise fallow, unused land into a productive piece of property.

    o    It has the potential of sending a positive message about our church to the community and, in the same way, give a boost to our members' self-esteem (good P.R. and good self-image building).

    o    The idea conforms with our biblical understanding to care for the earth ("God blessed them [the man and the woman], and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue [Heb: "kabash"] it, and have dominion over [it] ....' "  -- Gen. 1.28.  Of course, we understand that to mean *caring* for the earth, not demolishing it.  Let's not take the word "kabash" too far)!

    Perhaps even more telling was the exchange between Dave and a Council member who was understandably concerned over the safety of the garden.  "What if somebody comes in and steals the vegetables?"  Dave answered, "If they need them that badly, then that's what it's all about."

    You gotta love it!

    I'm hoping that as the idea of a community garden is passed around our membership, we will generate more and more excitement and draw more and more people into the outreach.  Recall these words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9.8-9: "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.  As it is written, 'He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.' ")

A "MOVING" STORY
Rev. Dr. Karl R. Kraft, Senior Pastor, 3/1/2010

    Please make a note of
our new mailing address:

60 State Street

    As of Mon., Feb. 22, our church's official address was changed -- we are no longer at 56 No. Academy St., Glassboro, NJ 0028.  This column is one of the first attempts to alert all the people who need to know of the change (and there are many!)  Changing addresses is never an easy task, but in our case, it was particularly involved, because the church offices *literally* changed locations!

    For at least the past eight months, our Trustees have been coordinating efforts to renovate our Fellowship House, a historic building that was, at various times in its history, a hotel (its original purpose), a sewing factory, and a general store.  Until this latest change, the Fellowship House provided a library, kitchen, stage, Sunday school classrooms, an apartment, and two large meeting halls. 

    Once the Trustees began their work, a major transformation took place: the library is now the church office, housing our secretary and membership secretary; the youth room is now the senior pastor's office; a large storage room has been reborn as our pastoral assistant's office; an entirely new room has been created for our youth groups; and the stage now serves as a large, segmented storage area.

    On Friday, February 20, a professional moving company took the computers, phones, copiers, filing cabinets, office furniture, my books, office supplies, and everything we were using at 56 No. Academy and moved it across the street to its new location at 60 State St.  Our secretary and I, with help from some church folks and my family, spent the greater part of Friday and Saturday putting things away and organizing our offices.  We are blessed to have a computer-savvy church member who was also willing to donate his time on Sunday, Feb. 21, to get our computers up and running.

    As I said -- very involved.

    United Methodist pastors in particular, but anyone who has relocated, know that moving is an emotionally draining experience.  Uprooting means leaving behind (routines, familiar arrangements and surroundings, a history in a given space, etc.).  But it also offers freshness and new possibilities (finding new places for one's belongings, ridding the space of "baggage," creating new experiences, etc.)

    The relocation of our offices is a sort of parable for Glassboro: First United Methodists.  In it we find the message of new hope and new possibilities.  I'm reminded of God's words to Israel through the prophet Isaiah: "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43.19).  Certainly we can perceive the new thing God has done in the relocation process (ask Trustees president George Armstrong, and he will tell you many stories of the evidence of God's direction throughout the entire project).

    As senior pastor, I hear God saying, "There are many things I have yet for you -- the church -- to accomplish.  I'm providing the means you need to perform those tasks well."  May we step up to the plate, seeing our new spaces as part of the opportunity God is giving us to move boldly into the future God has planned for us.

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