Koinonia Community Garden: January 2016

Monday, January 4, 2016

Black-eyed peas and collards at New Year's

Collard soup, kale crackers and black eyed pea cakes

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!

I hope all are well rested and healthy having traversed the highways, byways and flyways to be with family and friends this Christmas. To mark the end of this decadent season and the start of 2016 my dinner with family will be a purgative meal of collard soup with kale crackers and a side of black eyed pea cakes with roasted red pepper sauce. This is just a version of the traditional black eyed peas and collard greens we have all come the expect if not love. Enjoy your Veg however you like it best!

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Looking Back at 2015

2015 was an amazing year at Koinonia Community Garden. In October we celebrated our garden with a dedication service.

Dedication Prayer

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg. Dreams are the seedlings of realities."-- James Allen

This past Sunday afternoon a group of people from two congregations came together on a brilliant October day to dedicate the Koinonia Community Garden. The ground where we stood overlooking beds of kale and collards was a wooded area one year ago.

Honey bee visiting flowering buckwheat

Much was accomplished by many people who worked together over the past year to bring this day into reality. There were many gifts and donations given by generous, caring people in our churches and community. It could not have come about except for the efforts of many who joined together, youth and adults.

Youth work day installing deer fencing

But it all came about because of a vision that one woman had thirty years ago. Pat Horton is a local gardener who shares much of her own garden produce with others. But Pat was concerned
about those in our area who are living in a "food desert."
One purpose is to provide fresh produce for the church food pantry that serves persons in a food desert. Yes, hard to believe in 2015 but one in four households in our counties are lacking enough food. One of five children in our schools are hungry. Just google "hunger in North Carolina" to get an idea.

"But he (Jesus) answered, 'You give them something to eat.'" --Mark 6:37

Thanks be to God for the bountiful harvest, the blessings of our working together, and the opportunity to serve our community. Koinonia is a labor of love and the witness of our faith.