The garden is a Memorial Garden, a garden of benevolence, a garden of love. It is a gift to our community from the God of Love, Jesus the Christ. The first “seeds” for our garden have come from members of the congregation and a designation from the congregation’s memorial funds. These seeds have brought us to the beginning of a journey that will last for many years. Guided by the Holy Spirit we will plow forth until row upon row of our work is accomplished and our community is better nourished. The Lord invites you all to be part of His work on earth strengthening and feeding His children. The garden is made possible by generous donations from the community, and grants from the ELCA Domestic Hunger Grants, the Alaska Food Policy Council through the Municipality of Anchorage, the Alaska Women's Giving Circle, The Alaska Master Gardeners of Anchorage, the generous support by the congregation of Lutheran Church of Hope, and support from the Alaska Synod of the ELCA.

Food from the garden in 2019 was sent to Lutheran Social Services Food Pantry, the Tudor Road Gospel Rescue Mission, and to Bean's Cafe.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Does Santa Come to the Garden?

December is a busy time for us all. As the holidays approach there is much to do to prepare for the festivities of the end of the year. Moving closer to solstice means the days will soon be getting longer and the sun will once again warm our days and the nights will be shorter. It's the time of year when all gardeners begin to get itchy for the new season to start. The new season for our garden will really be the first. 2015 was the trial run and much more will happen in 2016. There is still no word on the grant application from the ELCA Hunger Team but that will come in due time.

If you are traveling this winter and can bring some items back to Alaska on your journeys for the garden, please let me know. I can order supplies and have them sent to you in the lower 48 and you could bring them back as baggage or in your baggage. Shipping cost for most items to Alaska are prohibitive as you know and any little assistance can help a lot. Please call me directly (my number is in the church directory) or call the church office and they will relay a message to me.

As you can see at the right of this publication I have put together a wish list for the garden. This will change from time-to-time as items are received. As you look down the list you will see items that are priced as little as $5. There are items on the list to fit all budgets. If you have a question about an item please contact me.

Mark you calendars for December 21. We will be having a recreational fire and a pot luck at Lutheran Church of Hope at 6 PM to celebrate the solstice. We will try to remove some of the stump material stacked up over the summer that will need to be hauled away if we can't burn it. We will also be having some seed tape making parties at the end of February and into March. Be sure to watch this space for more information.

May the love of God be with you all during this joyous season.