Greetings and happy June!
With June comes the opportunity to tour several local congregational gardens as part of Hope for Creation’s annual Congregational Garden Tour. We had such a great time on last year’s three-stop tour (see a fun 2-minute slideshow here) that we’re back with an expanded four-stop tour on June 18. Our goal is to build connections between gardens and their faithful gardeners, whose enthusiasm will no doubt encourage other congregations to think creatively about how they steward the green spaces around their own buildings.
On Saturday, June 18, we’ll visit:
12:00 PM: Children's Nature Playscape at First Congregational Church
345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007
1:15 PM: Community Garden at Allen Chapel AME Church
804 W North St, Kalamazoo, MI 49007
2:30 PM: Hydroponics and Garden at Bible Baptist Church
1700 N Drake Rd, Kalamazoo, MI 49006
3:45 PM: Rain Garden at Congregation of Moses
2501 Stadium Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Each site will offer a guided tour including information about what they’re doing and how they’ve developed their sites over time. We’ll visit for about an hour, with time for Q&A and refreshments (BYO beverage container, to be sustainable!), and then have about 15 minutes to travel to the next site.
We’d be thrilled to have you join us; please let us know you’re coming by RSVPing here.
For a sneak peak of one of the tour stops, check out these photos of our May 28 work day at Allen Chapel AME Church, which brought together Hope for Creation, Church Women United, the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement at Kalamazoo College, and congregants from Allen Chapel:
At each tour stop, we’ll be distributing a different garden-friendly recipe from Hope for Creation’s purposefully plant-based recipe collection. Here’s a sample recipe to whet your appetite: Asparagus Alfredo Pasta.
Please feel free to share the flier for our June 18 Congregational Garden Tour, and invite your friends and your congregation!
And if you’re looking ahead to July, remember to bring your recyclable EPS foam to the City’s quarterly drop-off event, on July 23, from 10 AM to 1 PM at Mayor’s Riverfront Park. Hope for Creation will be there providing volunteers, and we’d love to share our passion for sustainability and creation care!
If your congregation is interested in affiliating with our work, please let us know! We’re actively seeking connections with faith-based groups and houses of worship who’d like to be part of our prayerful advocacy, sustainable solutions, and creation care. I’d love to hear from you – drop me a line at [email protected] today.
With hope for creation,