Thanks to the vision of Al Hipp and the hard work of a number of parishioners, we now have a parish vegetable garden. Produce from the garden will be distributed through the Hispanic Ministry at St. Francis. Although planting was fairly late for South Carolina, things seem to be thriving and already ten pounds of squash have been harvested. This form of ministry is catching on throughout the country. In addition to providing food for the hungry, gardens are opportunities for fellowship and for meditation.

As I said during the Blessing of the Garden, in Genesis 2, God placed the first man and first woman in a garden to till it, and the vision of a new heaven and a new earth includes a garden in various biblical sources. I’m a gardener myself, although my involvement is chiefly in the heavy lifting and work, the sweat and toil.

We are in the midst of a drought and the ground is completely parched. We’ve received less than an inch of rain in June. Both Corrie and I look at the skies every afternoon in hopes of seeing dark clouds that will bring rain, but so far all we’ve received this week are a few sprinkles. The garden at St. James will thrive only with a lot of water, more than I used when blessing the garden some weeks ago. Here’s a picture of that: