Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“As the Lord says, why say “Lord! Lord!” and not do what I said to do? That’s the beautiful thing about The Garden Church, we’re all participating in it. The Swedenborgian faith is about love, and about action, it’s about living. The word ‘love’ is hollow, without actually loving…and doing….and believing.” -Cory, The Garden Church, San Pedro, CA.
What a beautiful Gathering we had yesterday! Here’s a glimpse of it for those of you who couldn’t be with us in person.
When you’re making church from scratch, the trunk of the car is key. 
Those leading arrived early and scouted out our meeting place….
...and then enlisted people to help set up as they arrived. One of the mottos we are engaging is, “give the work away.” Feeling useful and being a part of something engages us in a way that many other things don’t. It’s part of our whole “feed and be fed” bit. And so, as tempting as it was to get everything set up before people arrived, we restrained ourselves and had the joy of an entire artistic “name tag team” form, bonding over a “fill the watering cans” run, and worship space designers preparing the table. 
We then gathered around, ready to “make church together.” 
Janis and Rachel shared with us how to plant and care for our lettuce seeds.
And then we got to work!
People shared about the people in their lives that they were going to give their second pot to. Neighbors who they’d been wanting to connect with, homebound grandparents, close friend who is going through a loss. The Garden Church goodness spreading out into the world. 
Meanwhile, Lisa led the Garden Church Choir (“that’s you!”) in learning a song to sing during worship.
Our youngest gardener won the prize… and made six pots! 
At the Garden Church, we work together….
We moved into our time of worship and unpacked our Tabernacle, the marker points of God dwelling with us as we are a community on the move. Helpers were at the ready and set out the Bible, the candle, the bread and wine, the water and our icon of the Tree of Life. We then rung the gong and entered into the sacred silence where we can hear the Divine speaking to us. 
Hearing stories form the Word. 
And reflections on how we can engage our spiritual lives. 
The community furthers the sermon in their reflections.
And then we share together in the Sacred Meal. The bread of life… 
…and the cup of salvation. Feed and be fed. 
Our Sacred Meal led into our community meal, where we enjoyed delightful food and good company.
We enjoyed the beauty of the choir singing and then teaching us, “This Pretty Planet” and by the end had the whole circle singing it as a three-part round, complete with movements and an ode to the scene behind us as we sang, “Golden sun going down, gentle blue giant, spin us around.”
May the Lord bless you and keep you….as we go out to love and to serve.
Everyone take your pots of future salad…
Packing up and leaving with full hearts under the glorious blessing of creation and our Creator. 
Let’s be church together again soon!
Add your offering to the basket for the work of the Garden Church.
//
On Sunday, November 23rd we will have our Garden Church Gathering! We have a beautiful collection of ways that we will work and worship and eat together this month. It’s time to get our hands in the dirt as the Garden Church! Our work together will be planting pots of lettuce seeds that will be able to grow on your kitchen counter and provide fresh lettuce, as local as it gets, for months to come. Each one of us will get to take a bit of the Garden Church home with us. But more than that, we’re inviting everyone to make a second pot and give to someone you think could enjoy a little bit of love and food and goodness.
As we worship together, we’ll be blessed by a couple of guests from out of town. Two of them will be assisting with our music for worship and will be leading anyone who is interested in learning a song to sing as a mini-choir piece during worship. The sermon will be inviting us into a conversation about the dynamic between God and humanity, through the image of the Shepherd and the sheep, as we explore the difference between the goal of conversion or transformation. Our worship time will culminate in a Sacred Meal (Communion/Holy Supper), which is open to all and where all are welcomed to feed and be fed.
Our Sacred Meal leads into our communal meal where we will eat together and enjoy the sharing of food and of conversations. Lorie will be making her delicious wraps again and we invite each of you to bring some kind of finger food to add to the meal. Fruit, veggies, drinks, chips, etc.
We are looking forward to being church together. Invite your friends, come on over, feed and be fed!
Directions: Our November Gathering will take place at the small park just down the hill from the Korean Friendship Bell in Angels Gate Park at Pt. Fermin in San Pedro.
*If you’re a GPS type, program it for Pt. Fermin Park. Then, drive past Pt. Fermin park, down below the Korean Friendship bell, and you will see a parking lot on your right (away from the water). You can then pull in and park in the parking lot there. We’ll then gather at a cluster of picnic tables near the middle of the park. Take the path leading out of the parking lot and you’ll find us.
Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“I’m very excited about the Garden Church in San Pedro. Ultimately, they are going to be raising food, and worshiping together, and eating together. I think that is a really important model to explore. It certainly was a model that Jesus used. Even though, I live in New York, I financially support the Garden Church. Even a small amount, for me, allows me to watch this beautiful thing grow. And for the people participating – it supports their community.” –Russ Jennings, Host of the podcast, “Love in a Dangerous Time”.
Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“As someone who’s thought a lot about faith, but never knew what it meant to engage in the Bible, and who wasn’t raised with religion at all, it’s been a real blessing to have a wonderful pastor like Anna. And to have a community that is supportive of difficult questions, and really intellectually stimulating conversations about what it means to believe in God. – Rachel Burrows, The Garden Church
On Sunday, November 23rd we will have our Garden Church Gathering! We have a beautiful collection of ways that we will work and worship and eat together this month. It’s time to get our hands in the dirt as the Garden Church! Our work together will be planting pots of lettuce seeds that will be able to grow on your kitchen counter and provide fresh lettuce, as local as it gets, for months to come. Each one of us will get to take a bit of the Garden Church home with us. But more than that, we’re inviting everyone to make a second pot and give to someone you think could enjoy a little bit of love and food and goodness.
As we worship together, we’ll be blessed by a couple of guests from out of town. Two of them will be assisting with our music for worship and will be leading anyone who is interested in learning a song to sing as a mini-choir piece during worship. The sermon will be inviting us into a conversation about the dynamic between God and humanity, through the image of the Shepherd and the sheep, as we explore the difference between the goal of conversion or transformation. Our worship time will culminate in a Sacred Meal (Communion/Holy Supper), which is open to all and where all are welcomed to feed and be fed.
Our Sacred Meal leads into our communal meal where we will eat together and enjoy the sharing of food and of conversations. Lorie will be making her delicious wraps again and we invite each of you to bring some kind of finger food to add to the meal. Fruit, veggies, drinks, chips, etc.
We are looking forward to being church together. Invite your friends, come on over, feed and be fed!
Directions: Our November Gathering will take place at the small park just down the hill from the Korean Friendship Bell in Angels Gate Park at Pt. Fermin in San Pedro.
*If you’re a GPS type, program it for Pt. Fermin Park. Then, drive past Pt. Fermin park, down below the Korean Friendship bell, and you will see a parking lot on your right (away from the water). You can then pull in and park in the parking lot there. We’ll then gather at a cluster of picnic tables near the middle of the park. Take the path leading out of the parking lot and you’ll find us.
Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“I support Anna Woofenden’s vision of The Garden Church because I believe in the Biblical, classical image of the garden, God creating humans in the garden, and feeding people. It is a wonderful thing.” -Junchol
Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“The reason I’m so excited about The Garden Church is I believe that there are thousands of people who crave not only physical food nourishment, but also spiritual nourishment that can come about by people coming together as communities and growing things. Whether or not it’s literally food or, growing relationships, growing their own attitudes about the world and why they were placed here, and how they can express their love for their friends and their neighbor and their families.” -Robert Carr, Treasurer, Pacific Coast Association of the New Jerusalem; Member, Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco.
Give and share! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
“I’m invested in the Garden Church because, the church is changing. I love the church and the future of it matters. And so when people have conversations with me and say, ‘the church is dying’ I can tell them, ‘let me tell you about the Garden Church.“ –Rev. Amy Gall Ritchie
Give and share today! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
The Garden Church is re-imagining church as we work together, worship together, and eat together.
We’re so excited about the Garden Church, which is being planted in San Pedro, California! And we want you—wherever you live—to be part of it!
We are re-imagining what it means to be church, gathering a group of people together to create a church that is a communal garden, and a communal garden that is church.
Part of re-imagining church is re-imagining our funding sources and methods. The way the world works is changing, and the funding for new expressions of church aren’t primarily coming from our institutions any more.
Instead, we have the opportunity to build a community of support made up of individuals who share our passion. We believe there are people all over who want to be part of doing something to make the world a better place—perhaps including you!
We need to raise $2,000 a month for the next year from our Cultivation Team. That’s 200 people giving $10 a month, or 100 giving $20, or 50 people giving $40—you get the idea. Give what amount is right for you, monthly for the next year, and be an essential part of the team that is re-imagining church and bringing more heaven here on earth.
Be part of our Cultivation Team by praying, pledging, and participating in being church together.
You:
Pray—hold good intentions and energy for the work and being of the Garden Church in whatever way is true to you.
Pledge—to give regularly (monthly is incredibly helpful for our budgeting, but of course we welcome any way that you feel moved to give) during our startup season until we establish local financial abundance.
Participate—Stay connected and participate from afar through engaging in work, worship, and eating in the spirit of the Garden Church in whatever way you are inspired.
We:
Pray—Our community will pray regularly for you.
Pledge—We pledge to share in the experience through monthly newsletters, audio and video sharing of sermons and worship, regular social media posts, and stories of how the Garden Church is growing.
Participate—We’ll share stories, ideas, liturgy, lessons learned, inspirations, and whatever else we encounter as we grow. And you are always welcome to come join us in San Pedro and spend some time working, worshiping, and eating together with this community. Because you’re part of the Cultivation Team and there’s a place for you at the Table.
Our goal is to gather this collection of generous pledges by #GivingTuesday (you’ve heard of BlackFriday, CyberMonday, we believe in #GivingTuesday), December 2, 2014. Pledge, celebrate, and spread the invitation!
Give and share today! http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/The-Garden-Church-Fund
~Be sure to check the “monthly” reoccurring donation option at check out~
~Your gift to the Garden Church Startup fund is tax deductible through our denominational body, the Pacific Coast Association of the Swedenborgian Church~
