'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still watts. He restores my soul' Psalm 23:1-3In the gospel of John Jesus says 'I am the good shepherd' and Christians find comfort in this image as it reassures us that God is looking out for us, guiding us and protecting us and when we are tired and struggling with things he leads us to a time of rest and quiet calm. This is our motivation behind our community garden at St Martins, we wanted to use the outside space we have to offer a place of quiet, friendship and connection with God's creation. With †he support of a grant from DDC we have been able to start work and we have made a patio area which we hope may be used by groups to come together to study the bible, a book group, a knit and natter, the opportunities are endless. We are awaiting some memorial benches which have also kindly been donated. Then later in the summer/autumn we hope to start work on planting our fruit trees along the path which we know so many children use on their way to school. As they grow we hope the trees will offer a tasty snack for children as they come to and from school. We will also be making some raised beds to grow vegetables and plants and hope a community gardening group will use the area to share tips and learn new skills. Any donations would be greatly received as we still have some funds to raise towards our sensory area, this will include a multi sensory path for people to explore different textures along with the smells, textures and colours of plants along the way. If you would like any more information or are able to support us in this project please contact Rev Melissa on rev.melissa.carter@gmail.com
