Friends–
It is with joy and pleasure that I share with you that the Housing Authority of Chester County acted today 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 for their action. This is a win win for all of Phoenixville.  Now we move on to the 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. Our garden coordinator Dorene Pasekoff deserves words of thanks for her networking folks together enabling voices to be heard and our concerns raised in the widest possible way on this issue.

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.

April 5 is the official start date for the 2008 garden season at St. John’s United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth. Come out and visit us; call us for a plot or join the perennial volunteers on a Tuesday evening. Come walk the labyrinth.  This ministry continues! Thanks everyone for all your support.