Gleaning blueberries for those in need

A Stone Soup Gleaning Gathering to Pick Blueberries, Followed by Swimming at Lake Sheila
Where: Meet at Saluda UMC and we will carpool to Mill Springs, NC (for those of you in Columbus, contact Lena and she will send you directions for meeting us there!)
When: Wednesday, July 6th, at 8am-1pm
Wear: Sunscreen, a hat, and good shoes for picking and a bathing suit for swimming
Bring: A picnic lunch and a towel and WATER (a must have)
Note: Parents, feel free to drop your kids off for the morning if you have to work!
Questions? Call Lena at 319-541-9221.

We will be gleaning blueberries for those in need with the Society of St. Andrew! The fruit of God’s good earth deserves to be tasted by the least of these and we hope to help make that a reality.

Schedule: 

8am- Meet at Saluda UMC Church and we will carpool down to Mill Springs
10:45-12:45pm- Lunch and Swimming at Lake Sheila
1pm- Pick up at church

About Gleaning with the Society of St Andrews: 

One major area of food waste in America is in farmers’ fields, where crops that don’t meet top-grade quality are left to rot or be plowed under. Gleaning is the traditional biblical practice of gathering crops that would otherwise be left in the fields to rot, or be plowed under after harvest. The Gleaning Network coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to salvage this food for the needy.

Tens of thousands of volunteers from churches, synagogues, scout troops, senior citizen groups, and other organizations participate each year in Society of St. Andrew gleaning activities. Each year, tens of millions of pounds of produce are salvaged and given to the poor at no cost to them or to the food pantry or kitchen that feeds them.

Gleaners are people of all ages and income levels who want to give of themselves. Usually within 48 hours of picking the produce, hungry Americans receive the gleaned food. Each year, 35,000-40,000 people glean with us – to pick up over 20 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food for their hungry neighbors.

Scripture to Meditate On: 

We will be focusing on the following scripture passages, as the biblical mandate comes from the Hebrew scriptures in Deuteronomy 24:19:

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. (NRSV)

Jesus reminds us why this is so important in Matthew 25:34-40

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

We cannot wait to see you there! 

Lena

Lost 40 Hike + Contemplation Practices + Swimming

Stone Soup on Contemplation in Nature 
When: Sunday, June 19th, at 4pm
Where: Meet at Saluda UMC and we will all head to the Missing 40 Trail (aka the "Lost 40") 
For info on the trail: http://saludaclt.org/missing-40-trail

Join us for a contemplative hike on the Missing 40 trail, followed by picnic dinner and swimming afterwards for those who wish to! 

We will be meeting at the trailhead and will be learning some contemplative practices for reflection/prayer/meditation in Creation to then take out with us into the woods on a quiet hike. Lena will lead any children on a kid-themed contemplative hike so the adults can enjoy some rare solitude. 

Please bring picnic food and your own plates, cups, napkins, and utensils (the less plastic we use the better for the earth). 

The rough schedule will be:

4-5pm Contemplative Hike 
5-6pm- Picnicking along the water
6pm- Swimming 

The passages we will be meditating on are: 

Psalm 42: 1-6

As a deer pants for flowing streams,

    so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

    for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food

    day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

    “Where is your God?”

These things I remember,

    as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

    and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

    a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

Proverbs 8: 12, 20-31 (from The Message adaptation) 

I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;

    Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street. […] 

My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;

    the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.

You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk—

    at the intersection of Justice Avenue,

Handing out life to those who love me,

    filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—

    before he did anything else.

I was brought into being a long time ago,

    well before Earth got its start.

I arrived on the scene before Ocean,

    yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.

Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,

    I was already there, newborn;

Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,

    and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,

And set Sky firmly in place,

    I was there.

When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,

    built the vast vault of Heaven,

    and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,

When he drew a boundary for Sea,

    posted a sign that said no trespassing,

And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,

    I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.

Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,

    always enjoying his company,

Delighted with the world of things and creatures,

    happily celebrating the human family.

Stone Soup's Annual Campout at Orchard Lake!

Summer Fun! School's Out! — Orchard Lake Campout

Friday, June 10th, 4pm - Sunday, June 12th, ~10am 

Fee: camping is $9/person.

Keeping the Tradition Going!

However; things will be a little different this year….  A Boy Scout Troop has our normal location…. so we’ll try something new! This year we will be in sites 110 through 116.  This area is located behind the pavilion, near the zip-line and is grassy and closer to all the activities at the campground.  There is water and electricity at each site. We’ll use site 113 as the group site and put tents on either site of the fire ring and picnic tables. We will be using the pavilion bathrooms. 

Food Logistics: 

• Friday dinner: Bring your own hotdogs + a dish to share 
• Saturday breakfast: We provide batter, you bring fruit, meat, or something to go with the pancakes. Extra camp stoves welcome!
• Saturday lunch: Bring your own picnic lunch
• Saturday dinner: Bring a dish to share for the Mexican-themed community potluck
• Sunday breakfast: Edna is providing the food (thanks, Edna!) 

Tentative Schedule:  

• Friday 4pm – start setting up tents and make group area.
• Friday 7-8ish pm -- American Fare – we’ll use camp grills to grill out the hot dogs. Bring your musical talent/instruments. Night swim to follow dinner! 
• Saturday am – Pancakes galore! 
• Saturday 11AM – Warm-up volleyball match, 
• Saturday 1pm  - whiffle ball game
• Saturday 4pm — kids verses parents volleyball match; laughing parents volleyball to follow.
• All day anytime — Pick-up soccer, Frisbee, Pick-up 3 par golf 
• Saturday Mexican Potluck — 7-8ish 
• Stone Soup– 8ish-9ish pm.
• Sunday 9am– breakfast at Edna’s.
• Sunday 10ish am — Break camp and/or hang out.

Our Stone Soup this year is entitled "Wild Life Sanctuary," our theme for the summer and the title of a project we are working on with our summer church intern, Lena Connor, to record the "wild lives of faith" lived out by our own community members. How often do we stop and marvel at the wondrous events in our lives--from the smallest moments of awe to the largest touchstone events that change our paths--and name God at work? This weekend, we want to reflect on the epicness of our time on earth and share with one another! 

Our scripture passage we will meditate on is from Genesis 28: 

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

Bring any poems/quotes/stories/scripture that you want to share with the group on what makes life a grand adventure! 

Look forward to seeing you all! -Lena