Friends–

It is with joy and pleasure that I share with you that the Housing Authority of Chester County acted to keep the St. John’s United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and to integrate it into any planning for future housing development at the Fairview site. On behalf of the Consistory and congregation, I expressed our thanks to the HACC and to Pennrose Corporation for this action. This is a win- win for all of Phoenixville.  We continue to the work on issues of feeding the hungry, sustaining the land and offering social, spiritual, physical growth and sustenance; and, fostering continued community spirit.

We need to thank the Borough Council of Phoenixville, other political offices on the state and regional levels, non-profits in our community like Phoenixville Area Community Services, the Chamber of Commerce and all those folk in the community-- gardeners and non-gardeners for your support.

There is more work to be done and continued conversations will take place. We look forward to being part of those continuing conversations as plans develop on the Fairview site. And since the labyrinth was not secured in the long term, we will continue to lobby for the labyrinth to remain as is. But the very, very good news is that the garden site will continue to be a place providing the largest in season fresh produce to the community and a organically sustaining place not only for fresh produce but also for seed starting and testing of plants and vegetables etc and healthful site of interaction of folk from all walks of life. A new model for living in our community is very possible thanks to this action by the Housing Authority of Chester County.

We offer our thanks to our former garden coordinator Dorene Pasekoff for her years of service in setting up the garden and her work in networking with community groups and garden folks. We are appreciative of her efforts in this regard. And now at the close of the 2009 season we are in search of a new garden coordinator and a new way of administrating the garden beginning in 2010. We continue this ministry of organic gardening within the Phoenixville community. We expect and will seek to develop new initiatives in the years to come.

April 3 is the official start date for the 2010 garden season at St. John’s United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth. Come out and visit us; call us at St. John’s United Church of Christ for a plot at 610 933-5311. Come walk the labyrinth.  This ministry continues! Thanks everyone for all your support over the years. We look forward to a new and ‘productive’ garden season in 2010.

All inquiries pertaining to the garden should be directed to Rev. Linda Gruber, Pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, Pa 19460; 610 933-5311; gruber@stjohnsucc.com