On Thursday, the Three Rivers Commercial-News ran a great front page story covering our first planting at the Tripple Ripple Community Gardens at Huss School. Here's how Brenda McGowan, one of the garden organizers, contextualizes the work: This is really a social justice project. The whole goal is to take the people in the...
Today, we cleaned the barn at the Hermitage and moved over to St. Gregory's Abbey, where we'll be spending our last day together. The hymn for morning prayer this morning was "Lord, whose love in humble service," which seemed a perfect way to finish our time at the Hermitage: Lord, whose love in humble service...
We did a lot of raking today at Huss School. I'm beginning to realize the scale of this place because I continually underestimate the amount of stuff in the building or on the land. For example, I looked at the front yard today and thought, "There aren't that many leaves here; we can...
Today was another full day--which means I am again sitting down to type this near midnight. We don't have internet access at the Hermitage, so I'm posting these updates to the blog while we grab water from our apartment in the morning for cleaning at the school (the school building is winterized, so there's...
One of the text's for today's morning prayer was the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It's a story I've heard a thousand times, but I don't think I'd heard it in quite a while. I was struck during this reading by the number of people who told Jesus upon his...
We've already had a very full weekend and first work day with our spring break work group! I only have a few minutes to post, so I'll just post a few photos ...
In a few hours, five Calvin College students will arrive in Three Rivers to spend their spring break learning about our city, working at Huss School and dreaming about future possibilities for both. We've planned a full week of work and events that will keep us pretty busy throughout the week. The group will be...
Three Rivers, MI March 15, 2010. The youth of Three Rivers are going to be cultivating the spirit of community, neighborhood and diversity by growing food collaboratively and sustainably. In April, coordinators of the Triple Ripple Community Garden, Julianna Sauber- and Brenda McGowan-Nurturing Communities Initiative will begin what is hoped to be the first of...
The Tripple Ripple Community Garden project, led by Julianna Sauber and Brenda McGowan, is hosting a few informational meetings to get things rolling. Here are the details: A free community garden is starting at the Huss School property, led by kids giving back to the community. Please attend our first meeting. The kids and the...
Last weekend, we walked through Huss School with an architect (a friend of a friend) to get an informal but professional opinion of the building. The good news: the building is structurally very sound. The bad news: the building needs new mechanical systems and presents a number of architectural challenges. ...
Last year at about this time, we felt the spirit move. Kirstin and I were listening to a presentation by Bill Strickland of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild at the annual Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh and an idea began to take shape. Strickland shared his amazing story, from growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in...
Last weekend (as many of you know), a film class from Calvin College visited Three Rivers to film a short promotional video for Imagining Space and a short, original film with Huss School as the shoot location. Overall, the experience seems to have been a great success! The students had a great time in Three...
