Friday, July 24, 2009

Urban Share

Garden made from used pallets and milk crates

John 6:1-21

Jesus feeds 5000. A pretty spectacular story that if you've heard it a million times before may lose it's power. And with all the stories of miraculous healings and bringing people back from the dead, we may have already put this story in the category of things that God(dess) could do, but we could not.

But what if we could do it too? Two Saturdays a month we feed more than 200 and we only spend $600 a year on food. How is that possible? Well, we simply let people who have more than their daily bread, know there were others who were going without. And they bring their extra bread (actually they serve restaurant quality meals that are better than I eat at home).

At the Welcome Ministry, we use a philosophy that I call Urban Share. Urban Share is founded in the belief that we have all the supplies that we need, we just have to share it and communicate our needs to others.

Using this model of Urban Share we are working on a community garden project to enable churches and other organizations to create gardens to grow food, learn about hunger and meet the need that is so much more than a need for daily bread. Working with local gardening activists we have learned that it is possible to create raised bed, sidewalk, rooftop and lot gardens virtually for free by recycling materials that are common in urban environments.

Now we are working on connecting gardeners with organizations to teach them how to use the space and things they have around them to produce food for those in need in their communities.

Join our movement! Help us create connections, to fund this program, to reach out to more organizations and churches. Let's use Jesus' ability to feed large groups of people with the resources he found around him and his commandment from Mark "You go feed them" and go and do likewise.

Call to action- Help us feed 5000: The Welcome Ministry plans to feed an additional 5000 people this year, but we need your help. We will be growing produce in community gardens. How? Send us seed! Please send us one or more packets of seed (to grow food) in the mail along with your prayers - we will use your seeds to grow food and feed 5000.

Send seeds and prayers to:
The Welcome Minsitry
1751 Sacramento St.
San Francisco CA 94109

Proper 12B/Ordinary 17B/Pentecost 8

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