Garden News

Don’t go to the mall!

Do your Christmas shopping from home. Start at www.thegardenonline.org and you will help support the weekly ministry of The Garden. Whether it is Linda’s favorite books, movies you’ve seen or music you’ve heard at The Garden, these and many other great items are available at Amazon. And, you can help The Garden just by clicking through the Garden website to make your Amazon purchases.  To participate go to www.thegardenonline.org and click in the bottom right hand corner on the Amazon logo.  This link will take you right to Amazon, where 6% of your total purchase is given to The Garden, with no additional cost to you!!  But you MUST start from The Garden website in order to pass along the support.

Indianapolis-area families need your help this Christmas 

This year, more than ever before, everyone is feeling the economic downturn.  Each Christmas The Garden partners with an organization founded and operated by Gardeners.  Food Link is a food pantry which operates with several churches on the near east side of Indianapolis, They have identified and recommended several local families who are in need of our support this year. Beef and Boards is hoping to sponsor 30 families with a total of 112 people that are in need of help.  Some ideas to make it easier to fulfill this need are to create teams to adopt families; volunteers can pair you up with someone or you can put together your own team.  Or if you would like to contribute individual gifts to be distributed to families, you can put those in the green pop-up hampers.  Some people may have the finances to participate but not the time, others the time but not the finances.  If you are interested in participating in this program in any capacity please stop by the table in the lobby at Beef and Boards before or after a Garden service or at Beef and Boards contact Marcie Hankins at mghankins@comcast.net or call her at 989-4663. Oak Hill announced the Food Link project last Sunday and quickly received commitments to support 10 families. Volunteers hope to get commitments to sponsor at least 10 more families. Forms to sign up to support a family are on Oak Hill tables. Information about individual families will be distributed Sun 11/30/08. At Oak Hill questions should be referred to Karen Greiling at 841-0147 or Andy Spangler at 844-3105.

10% Giving Program Nominations

Nominate your favorite Nonprofit Organization to receive a Gift from The Garden.  Look for the blue card on your table to suggest an organization to be considered for the 2009 list of recipients of The Garden’s 10% gift.  In December a list of semi-finalists will be chosen and Gardeners will have the opportunity to vote on 12 lucky recipients for 2009.  Each recipient will be assigned to a month in 2009.  The selected organization of each month will receive 10% of the month’s watering can contributions.  In this way, The Garden helps support our larger community by demonstrating God’s unconditional love for all.

Breakfast with Santa  

Tickets are on sale now to have a holly, jolly hearty breakfast with Santa on December 13th, 8:30am to 11:00am at St. Luke’s UMC, at 100 W. 86th St. Proceeds to benefit Fresh Start.  Seating is limited. Buy your tickets early!  Look for the red flyer on your table.

Sunday Morning WALK AND WORSHIP at Beef and Boards

Take an easy hike with the Indianapolis Hiking Club.  Meet in the parking lot next to the Pyramids. This will be a 4-5 mile walk on paved roads that begins at 9:00am and concludes in time for the 10:15 service.[or you can attend the 8:15 service and walk off that extra doughnut!]  Every Sunday (weather permitting) Leader: Rena Elsner for questions call 873-6526

Singles Game Night

Saturday, December 13, 2009.  The evening features a pitch-in dinner and white elephant gift exchange.  Please let Carol know what you plan to bring for the pitch-in so we don’t have 10 desserts and no veggies!  For those of you who have never had the pleasure of participating in a white elephant gift exchange, a ‘white elephant’ is an item that is totally useless.  Get creative!  Examples of past gifts include:  used candles and burned matches; an empty wine bottle; a five-track tape and so on.  The fun will start at 6:00 p.m.

Garden Youth Boutique

Handmade Jewelry and Ornament Sale - Sundays at Oak Hill after the 10:15 service.  All proceeds will be used to provide a micro loan to a qualified budding entrepreneur in a developing country.  Boutique will be open every Sunday through Christmas.

Bittersweet Thanks

Last week Garden volunteers delivered 75 blank journals to the St. Vincent Hospice.  The journals were collected during the month of September at Garden services.  Gardener Gerry Fortner received a thank you note from one patient, “Thank you for your kindness in sharing.  God is a blessing to all to take time to see it.  I wish that everyday someone leaves you with a smile.  May God Bless and Keep You.  And in what days I have left I will promise you a smile each time I see you. - Kathleen”

Christmas Eve Services 

Featuring the song, ”A Baby Changes Everything” will be presented on December 24, at 5:00 and 6:30pm at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre and at 5:30pm at The Mansion at Oak Hill.