The garden ministry is a Green Team initiative providing vegetables for area food pantries and community members here at Wesley and the greater Coles County region. If you are interested in adopting a garden box or volunteering at our Giving in-ground Garden, please contact Karen Clausing (clausingkaren@gmail.com) /217-273-0597) or Robin Murray (rlmurray50@gmail.com /217-549-0199).
The green team
Celebrate Earth Month this april
The Wesley Green Team invites you to celebrate Earth Month this April by enjoying and nurturing God’s creation, learning to give more than we take, and as Paul states in Philippians 4: 11, becoming “content with whatever [we] have.” Those are the messages of creation care the Bible shares with us again and again, as in these examples:
• Psalms 24:1 declares “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”
• And this revelation is so important it is repeated in 1 Corinthians 29:11, “The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” For this reason alone, we are set up as stewards of creation.
• Proverbs 27:18 tells us, “Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit.”
• But Luke 12:15 also encourages us to conserve resources and avoid greed, for “one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Here are a few events with links to help you celebrate Earth Month 2024:
• Our own Wesley Gardens April workday: April 13 from 1-3pm
• Whiteside Gardens Tour on April 6: https://www.facebook.com/events/257088397443233/257088407443232
• Whiteside Intro to Nature Journaling April 29: https://fb.me/e/3gJbh5a2M
• Warbler Ridge (Grand Prairie Friends) Events: https://www.grandprairiefriends.org/events-1
• Eastern Illinois University Eclipse Guided Tour April 8: https://sce.eiu.edu/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=SP24ALSOLAR
• More Eclipse Information: https://www.charlestonillinois.org/community/charleston_tourism/solar_eclipse_2024.php
• Douglas Hart Event List: https://crm.nonprofiteasy.com/6396/Pages/Events/#/
As Robin Wall Kimmerer explains in Braiding Sweetgrass: “Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” Let’s all find joy in God’s creation as we care for our Earth this month and every month.
Donating in Coles County
With the loss of Restore as a donation option, local families and businesses need to turn to other are resale shops with their donations. This table created by Steve Runyon, outlines the various resale businesses that may accept your donations. Items each place accepts and any restrictions are also noted along with business hours, address, and phone numbers.
8 Places to Donated Used Items
When donating to Standing Stone - please refer to the following Donation Center Guidelines to best serve the center and community
WASTE REDUCTION IN COLES COUNTY
There are many options for recycling drop off within Coles County. Please view the updated list of all locations here:
2020
In 2020, the church had a large unused area of lawn with a water hydrant…the perfect spot for a garden! Despite COVID, we started small with one 4’x8’ raised bed & two 4’ grow bags tended by the Green Team. While not wildly productive, it was a good learning experience. That fall, a scout with BSA Troop 141 expanded our garden for his Eagle Project. Alex’s design made our garden disability accessible with a wide paver path, two 2’x4’ waist high & eight 4’x4’ knee high raised beds situated on a weed barrier edged with brick. 2021 kicked off with a fun Earth Day event planting vegetables & flowers for pollinators in our greatly improved garden. Foraging deer enjoyed our efforts as much as we did so temporary fencing & a gate were welcome additions.
Let love grow!
According to Dr. Michael Gillespie, EIU Sociology Professor, families with children in our county had a 22.4% poverty rate & 44.1% food insecurity rate in 2018 so our goals for 2022 expanded to include growing fresh, healthy vegetables for those in need. This spring we doubled the size of the garden & enclosed it with 7’ deer fencing. The raised beds are assigned, as before, to gardeners for their personal use; vegetables from in-ground rows will be donated to local food pantries. Networking with similar community projects & destinations for our produce as well as outreach on campus & to the community are ongoing. Volunteers with a variety of skills are always welcome … gardening, of course, but also networking, organizing educational activities, & distributing vegetables to name a few. Our garden continues to grow so join the fun, enjoy time outside in nature, get to know other gardeners, & put your faith to work helping our neighbors!