Grow Zones social – Sat 11th February 10am to 12 noon

A few of us that have been involved in Grow Zones in Oxford are getting together on Saturday at house244 for a seed swap and bit of a social. Join us if you want to find out a little more about Grow Zones and possibly be involved in a local team in the spring. It will be a low key relaxed chance to catch-up, learn about Grow Zones and think about doing another season of Grow Zones visits, as well as a chance to bring any seeds we want to swap with one another.

Tea and coffee with a bacon/egg sandwich will be on offer. Kids welcome.

If you plan to come please let us know by leaving a comment or contacting us.

Grow Zones is a community growing project that brings people together locally to help one another grow fruit and vegetables in their own gardens.

Find out more at http://www.growzones.com/

2011 in the garden

2011 has been a good year in the garden at house244. We had a good harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, chard, walking stick cabbages, runner beans, lettuces, rocket, borage and peas, but the borlotti beans, carrots and sweetcorn were a little disappointing. In three years though we’ve established the veg garden well, and next year we plan to expand the veg beds into the other side of the garden (left in photo above), which will all be aided by the new greenhouse… which after many hours has resulted in the picture below, just need to put in the glass now… yeah rather important but at least the structure is up!

My heart is filled with thankfulness.

This morning at my church the sermon was about being thankful to God, and how thankfulness is something that should spring from your faith.  We read about the 10 lepers who were healed and only one returned to say thank you.  In that context one finds oneself shocked at the behaviour of the 9 who didn’t.  Jesus had just turned their lives around, they were no longer outcasts, how could they be so ungrateful…?  “Yet how ungrateful am I?” I heard my conscience say, look at the way Jesus has turned my life around so that I can have a relationship with the most high God, and yet do I thank him enough?

Counting blessing is something I don’t often remember to do, I find that more often than not I am noticing the things that I do not have that others do.  But I took a minute to start counting all the blessings that I have, I began with family; 4 immediate, include spouses and children and that leaps to 8, include uncles, aunts and grandparents and I had already given up using fingers and toes to count.  I thought about friends; work friends, past and present, Am Dram friends past and present, Church friends, School friends, neighbours.  Then I have a house, a bed, a bible, a job, freedom… the list was becoming so long.  My cup overflows. Despite all that I long for, my heart is filled with thankfulness for what I have.  Plus that cheesecake on Friday was phenomenal!

 

Creating third places and making award winning espresso – Friday 19th August

We have Larry Bourgeois from the USA staying with us at House244 next week and have asked him to share with us a little about his work and projects on Friday night (19th).

Larry is into creating third places for spiritual renewal and his projects include award winning espresso bars, community coffeehouses, bookstores and community centres.  He works for the Episcopal Diocese of S. Ohio around Fresh Expressions of church and by all accounts can make a mean espresso. You can find out more at: larrybourgeois.me

Join us for a relaxed drink and nibbles from 8pm on Friday 19th.

House244 in Oxford looking for new members

Are you are interested in community living? Would like to explore joining a small, open-minded, Christian, residential community in East Oxford? We aim to live by a flexible rhythm of life that is guided by our values (including: Hospitality; Creativity; Openness; Generosity; Graciousness; and being Globally aware and locally focused. Find out more