News

  Since I will be away through most of the planting and early gardening season, I decided not to plant a garden this year.  It's the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven't had something edible growing in my yard.  Perhaps a late garden will start well in July!  In the meantime, we are trying to eat locally as much as possible.  There's a thicket of wild blackberries just down the road from us, so Deborah had blackberry cobbler for her birthday on Monday.  Having access to a couple of kayaks and being right on the sound makes eating local quite easy.  Well, maybe not easy, because there is a lot of work in harvesting oysters, shucking them, disposing of the shells so they don't pose laceration threats to any who encounter them, setting pots, cleaning crab (those claws pinch!) etc.  Even so, it's fun work, and the meals we've eaten from what we've caught, picked, prepared and enjoyed have been wonderful.   This week's reading list has included a couple of Carla Neggers' mystery novels: Saint's Gate and The Harbor.  I also am rereading Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Up next is Franciscan Conspiracy, a novel about the theft and concealment of the body of St. Francis.  Peace and much love to all! April

Original photographs by:  Eileen Campbell-Reed, Abbie Culbertson, Anne-Leslie Owens, Becky Sears, Johnny Sears
 

Dr. Melissa Snarr, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt Divinity School, will lead the Special Studies Class in a four-week study entitled "God's Economy."

You're invited to participate in an e-course on Practicing Spirituality with Children!  Are you interested in fostering spirituality in the children in your life?  How do children express their spirituality? And what can we do to foster their growth?  

There are two opportunities next week for you to learn more about our Cuban friends and their life and ministry: Monday, December 19, at 6:30, Niubes will share more about the ministries of Iglesia Bautista Alberto J. Diaz.  Niubes will talk with us about how our ongoing partnership can help create income for several families connected with the church's ministry and how we might use some of the funds already in their building project account to generate additional support for the building project.  On Wednesday night following supper and our program time, Niubes would like to share some Cuban music with us and teach us some Cuban dance.  Plan to stay for about an hour or so if you can and experience a little more of Cuban culture.  All ages are welcome!