Gardeners, former gardeners and friends of The Edible Churchyard,

Short notice, yes, but this April's been hard to call for gardeners. If you can join us Saturday, we'll be working on tidying the shed, garden beds and the grounds and helping any current gardeners who need a hand. We'll have plenty of tools on hand and a truck for collecting limbs in preparation for mowing. Also, snacks! Call or text Suzanne if you can work for an hour or longer. We'd love to have some of you former gardeners back! Suzanne 479-970-8058.

This is an invitation to join Sheila Jacobs in a safe environment to break the silence of childhood sexual abuse and begin the healing process. Although many cases of childhood sexual abuse go unreported, the statistics we do know are alarming.  

 

According to recent statistics, 37% of American children are reported to Child Protective Services by their 18th birthday.  1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18, often much younger.  Tragically, 34% of people who sexually abuse a child are family members.  The impact of child sexual abuse is profound, causing shame, feelings of worthlessness, distrust, health problems, and inability or difficulty maintaining healthy relationships.  Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse have learned to keep quiet and endure the pain alone.  Silence becomes an honor code and badge of self-protection, keeping us from healing.  Breaking the silence by acknowledging and sharing the truth of what we've lived is the beginning of a journey towards healing.  The purpose of this group will be to share in this journey in a non-judgmental, faith-based, safe environment.

 

The meetings will be facilitated by Sheila Jacobs, a 28-year passionate educator, wife, mother, grandmother, dog-lover, and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Sheila's abuse began at age 7, and while the physical abuse ended at age 13, she is all too aware that the effects of abuse do not end just because the physical abuse ends.  Sheila has had this ministry on her heart for many years and is, with her faith in God's help and her belief in the power of story, ready to share a space for healing with others.   Adult men and women are invited. 

The first meeting will be Thursday, April 26 at 6:30 at All Saints Episcopal Church. 

EfM will be having a spaghetti lunch and bake sale on April 29th immediately after the 10:30 service.

 

Lunch: spaghetti, salad, bread, and dessert for $7

 

We hope to see everyone there.

The First Thursday Book Group will meet next on May 3rd at noon in the parlor of All Saints'. Our book will be Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli.

 

The Wednesday Morning Bible Study is beginning a study of the letter of James. This short book of the New Testament is thought by many to have been written by James, the brother of Jesus. It is an exhortation to moral behavior within a Christian community, a piece of religious instruction. Bible study begins at 10 am in the Faith & Reason Classroom, and all are welcome to attend.

Sunda y Snacks Needed. 

Please Contact Marcia Van Horn. (479) 967-4215.

Bee Report from Doug Ryan, Volunteer Beekeeper in the Edible Churchyard, A Live and Learn Community Garden

The bees in the hive at the EC were lost during the winter.   Bee keepers in general can expect a 10% loss over the winter, but I have had a much greater loss this year (as a lot of bee keepers did). What happened? Well probably several things, some known and some unknown.   We had a swarm in the spring from the EC hive (which is natural, they grow a new queen and the old queen leaves with about half (20,000) of the bees to find a new home. The new queen has to survive her trip out in the world to get pregnant (for the rest of her life). Sometimes she doesn't make it back, that is when you need to be on top of it and get a new queen in hive before workers thinks she wants to take over laying eggs, only thing is she lays unfertilized eggs (drones). Once you get a laying worker it is hard to introduce a new queen because they think they already have one and so they kill her. So we lost the new queen but I thought I caught it early enough and I put in some frames from a different hive with a few queen cells. I thought things were doing good, finally got a laying queen, producing eggs, lots of bees, making honey. Then checked one day and SHB (Small Hive Beetles) moved in. They had a good handle on them as the bee population was good, so I just put in a few beetle jails (little containers with veg oil in them and the bees run the little beetles in the holes and they drown). Things seemed to be doing fine into the fall, I left lots of honey with them into the winter so they would not need extra feeding of sugar water and in November I treated the hive for varola mites, even though I did not see any (another big problem pest honey bees have to contend with).

 

Took advantage of a nice warm winter day to check on the bees, now the bad news: most of them gone, what was left were clustered on honey and dead. It wasn't for lack of food. Why did they leave such a nice home? Don't know. I'm not a professional beekeeper, I learn more every hive I get. Now we try again.

 

Hive is just about ready for a new group of bees. I plan to put a Apimaye screen bottom board on with a mite tray that works real well for capturing SHB using Diatomaceous Earth in the bottom tray that is removable to check on how effective it is. I will put in a new swarm with a laying queen in it this spring. The EC misses bees, blueberries are blooming and they love bees, all the spring bloomers are blooming (henbit, spring beauties, dandelions, and the elm trees bloomed and put on seed already, holly in full bloom. By the way daffodils are not visited by honey bees, nice to look at but not a bee flower.

 

Time to plant plants and bees! Doug

 

Doug would like to restore our bee colony, but there will be an approximate $150 in expenses to do so. If anyone would like to help fund new bees for the EC make a check to the Edible Churchyard or drop a donation in the "NEW BEES FOR THE EC, PLEASE" jar on the welcome/information table.

It's time again to assemble the crew. This year's theme is "Shipwrecked" and All Saints' is hosting!  July 22nd-25th. 

The first volunteer meeting will be Sunday, May 6th after the 10:30 service in Sutherland Hall.

Sunday, July 22nd with Registration 4:30 - 7:30
Monday and Tuesday July 23rd-24th 5:00 - 7:30
Wednesday, July 25th Closing Program (Families Invited)

To Register as a Volunteer, Click Here

To Register your child, Click Here. 

*Please print and return this forms to the All Saints' Office or Mail to 501 S. Phoenix Ave. Russellville, AR. 72801


Volunteer Opportunities:

Adults:

1. Decorating and Clean-up

Summer Camp

If your child is interested in going to camp this summer, please fill out an application form on the Camp Mitchell Website, https://www.campmitchell.org/

If a scholarship is need, please contact Kimby Tackett or David Williams at the church office.