June 2009 T.O.P Concert

Phase II Drum Circle

Edwards Band

Reeder Family Band

Max Honn

Back Creek Valley Boys

Craggy Island Band

Anthony Wells Experience Starship

A Day at the Garden...A Day at the Park

Saturday we had two teams working hard for Social Ministries. A group of folks were at the Orchard House laboring hard on the garden...

...and Carmen Winiarski and I spent most of the day at the Earth Day Festival in War Memorial Park, Martinsburg promoting the different projects of Social Ministries.

Skip Reader, team member of The Orchard Project, donated two huge piles of composted manure. Michael spread what he could over the garden with a tractor lent to us by Wes Dilly. The crew at the Orchard House spent most of Saturday morning shoveling up more of the composted manure to put over the garden.

We are continuously amazed at the commitment to help out with the garden. Skip's family and Ray are always right there to help, and Richard took two days in a row to lend his hands. Michael and I are so encouraged by the great support from everyone involved.

Over at the park, Carmen and I shared information and help raise funds for The Orchard Project.

For the In Sight project we displayed a painting done by Kirby Lewis on Mountaintop Removal and encouraged people to raise their voice to stop Mountaintop removal in West Virginia...amazingly enough there was another group, CARE North Mountain, who were just doing the same thing. North Mountain is in danger of being mined and the same thing that has happened to mountains in southern West Virginia can happen to ours.

We also had two empty canvases that the community could paint on. The themes were Broken Earth and Earth Renewed.

We were amazed at the artistic contributions from all ages!

Each person expressed things that harm the earth and things that help it.

Cars and hearts...

...flowers and tears were just a few of the things painted.

It was an incredible day!

A Helping Hand

Art Weber from Woodbrier Nursery has been incredibly helpful to The Orchard Project with materials for starting plants, space to grow the plants, taking his own time to water the plants, and teaching us how to transplant them. He has shared his wisdom and encouragement for the project. And he asked for nothing in return. The Orchard Project team though longed to return his great generosity.

Michael has been going over parts of the week and I joining him on Monday mornings and Saturdays...not only to take care of The Orchard Project plants, but to help Art with his own tasks for the nursery.

Friday we had three incredible volunteers show up to help Art with clean-up.

Carl Frasch, Darryl Johnson, and I pulled out stakes and organized them, as well as pulled out dead plants and raked leaves.

Richard Cleaves potted 100 trees that Michael picked up at the Berkeley County Youth Fairgrounds for The Orchard Project. Richard stayed on till the task was finished. Richard shared that each time he thought he was done he saw more trees that needed to be planted...kind of like the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Art thanked us for helping him out...but we could only thank him in return for the opportunity and his continued generousity.

Art took on the nursery after his father passed away and he and his family have ran it ever since. Because of the growing big companies coming into the community it is difficult for small, family run businesses like Art's nursery to compete. We encourage everyone to shop at small, local businesses in your area.

Sleeping Bag Project

Since November of 2008, very committed people have been gathering each Wednesday to sew together "sleeping bags" for individuals who are staying out in the cold in Martinsburg, WV. Even when just two gathered a sleeping bag would be made.

Rev. Karen Erskine Valentine led the project and help teach the unexperienced how to sew. Yeshuah Burbank was our most faithful sewing bee. He came most Wednesdays with such joy to help his brothers and sisters in need.

Through incredible donations of used fabrics, blankets, sheets, and neckties about 20 sleeping bags were created and given out to our homeless in the community. As soon as a sleeping bag was created, the next day it was needed.

Sleeping Bag Wednesdays were not only a time of service for our neighbors in need, but also a time of great fellowship for those who gathered. Lively conversations, laughter, and the occasional called out "ouch" were shared.

And So We Gather

One of the greatest hopes of The Orchard Project and I believe of any good project is the gathering of people.

People committed to work together...

...laugh together...

...and serve together. But how beautiful that on such beautiful days as this one, that we could all gather around the earth...

...learning, nurturing, and growing.

We had 13 people come on this 2nd Garden Day...as we have now called them in our email announcements..."Garden Day"...and what an enthusiastic crew! Each worked so incredibly hard! Folks of all ages came on this wonderful day!

Rocks were picked up through the field by a very determined crew.

Compost was hauled and spread over part of the field without any desire to take a break.

The field and rows were measured out.

Sand donated by US Silica was applied over the rows.

All in all it was a great day of fellowship and service. Thank you everyone!

"Thanks for going and helping today, Gracie."...Gracie responed, "It's you I owe a thank you."..."For what?" asked Jeff, "For telling me about it and how to help the poor," responded Gracie back to her Dad.