April 30, 2009
May 1st, 2009 by ocfairview
Hello Fairview and Friends!
I am writing you filled with excitement and hope as we enter into the next few days. This weekend we are focused on Stewardship! By now you know that stewardship is caring for that which is not our own. We are going to do this in a very tangible way this Big Sunday Weekend as we prepare to plant our Community Garden . In planting this garden we recognize that the land on “our” property –is not our own. We are something bigger –we are Fairview COMMUNITY Church and we are committed to being, serving, and living Community. We are charged with caring for this land, but we know that this property does not belong to us. By extension, we know that this church is our church, but it does not belong to us either. None of us owns it. Yet all of us care for it. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to have this church as vehicle for God’s transformative spirit to take shape and action in our lives and in our wider community. As we plant our Community Garden this weekend we are making visible, tangible commitment to serving our community and likewise to caring for the earth. When we bring our pledge cards to church Sunday morning (or mail them into the church) we are doing the same. The reality is that each of us is important to making us the collective church. We have a responsibility to BE the church. We cannot be the church unless we give of ourselves.
This garden will not grow unless we tend it. We need to clear out the mess –the overgrowth and pull the weeds. We need to till the soil. We need to put in the nutrients. We need to invest the time. We need to ensure that there is light. We need to give it water. And then, when we’re ready, we need to plant the seeds, care for the seedlings, and ensure that the plants get all they need in order to grow and sustain life.
Friends, let me be clear – I am talking about the literal garden, and the garden that is our church. We have a responsibility to be sure that the weeds don’t overtake our garden and choke it to death. We must give it what it needs to grow and we must invest ourselves and our time into making sure that it has all it needs to flourish. I hope that you are committed, as I am, to the growth of this garden and the way it can feed the hungry – those who hunger physically, spiritually, and mentally. For I am certain that there is a constituency of people out there who long to hear the voice of love, who are itching to be mentally stimulated, who hunger to be included, and who are starving for a slice of justice. I am convinced that Fairview Community Church has a vision for how to be a beacon of God’s loving light to our community –now it’s up to all of us to let it shine!
I pray that you will join us this weekend as we commit ourselves to Growing God’s Garden. Please consider how you will pledge your time, talent and treasure to the ministry of Fairview Community Church. If you are not going to be in church this Sunday, please send your pledge cards to the office: attn Financial Secretary 2525 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa CA 92626. If you are not a Fairview regular or member, please consider making a donation to the ministry of Fairview Community Church. Thank you!
