BUILDING A LOCAL FOOD COMMUNITY TOGETHER

  Last year saw the start of the Acadia Community Farm and an increased interest in eating local food.

The farm was started by students as part of a sustainable project to provide fresh organic fruit and vegetables for the dining hall at Acadia. Surplus produce was generously given to the Wolfville Food Bank.

 This year, the students involved with the farm and members of the Wolfville community want to build on that success.  

 We all like fresh fruit and vegetables but handling them is a difficult proposition for a food bank. 

The students, based on last year’s response to their donations, have determined that there is a significant need.  As a community we could also assist in providing fresh fruit and vegetables to the food bank.

 An open invitation is extended to anyone interested in using a plot of this land, to join with others using earth-friendly practices, to connect together and share local expertise while participating in growing your own food.

 Would you like to join and be part of this network?

 Do you know of farmers who might be willing to contribute  manure for this project?

Those of you who grow, know and appreciate the satisfaction of producing your own food and sharing with others.

Here is how you can contribute

•  take a plot and grow for you and the food bank
• donate money for seeds and supplies
• donate surplus fresh fruit and vegetables from your garden
• come and work on the existing garden
•  contribute a load of manure    

Contact Hillary or Alex at  hillary.barter@gmail.com or 697-2753

FOOD BANK SUNDAYS The Deacons have designated Communion Sunday (first Sunday in each month) as the monthly occasion when our congregation shall collect items for the Wolfville FOOD BANK. Please put your contributions in the Food Bank cart or give them to an usher for placement.

  All and any donations are gratefully accepted with their thanks.

        Do you have any blank tapes languishing in your home now that they are becoming a ‘thing of the past’?   If you do, we could certainly use them for recording our weekly and special services.  Please contact Linda McKinnon on 542-2920 or leave them at the church office.  Thank you.

 Please remember that printer cartridges can be used to raise much needed funds.  One of our church family, Teresa Neary, is collecting them to raise funds for the Kings Historical Society.  If you wish to donate your used printer cartridges, please contact Teresa on 542-1531.

      In future the cassette copy of the Sunday service will be kept in the Church Library along with a copy of the corresponding Bulletin.  They will be held for a period of three months.  These can be checked out as usual.

Convention News

It was not that long ago when the internet was only a concept.  Computers were bulky and cumbersome and were inaccessible to the majority of consumers outside a business environment.  Now, many of us have two or three computers in our homes and with the evolution of cell phones, we are more connected now than ever before.  The desire for real-time communication has fuelled the development of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.  Our Atlantic Baptist Convention has followed the trends and has been using a website and email to communicate with their constituents for some time now.  Over the past few years, visits to the Convention website have increased by 47%.   Now, in addition to these communication mediums, they have increased their online presence by joining Facebook and Twitter, as well as posting  podcasts on iTunes and a channel on YouTube.  These are new ways of keeping people up to date about what is happening around our Convention.   Check out the website by visiting Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches for further information.

The Lenten Study, “Why would Jesus say That”, continues on  Monday, March 15th at 6:30pm in Lockwood Hall.

The Inquirers’ Class continues on Friday, March 26^th in the Priscilla Room, beginning at 4:00pm.

WOLFVILLE AREA INTER-CHURCH COUNCIL maintains a furniture bank for its use in emergency situations.   Currently the furniture bank in very low  and asks that you consider donating used items to this important ministry.   Phone John Gerrits ( 582-7398) or write johngerrits@xcountry.tv for specific  information.

The TAX RECEIPTS have been completed by Valerie Kennie (Recording Treasurer) and are in the mail folders in the hallway.  If you do not have a folder the receipt has been mailed.

Our church family has 3 residents in Orchard Hall, Kentville. 

        Their addresses are as follows:

         Elsie Steele                Rm. 201                                             

  Betty Hassall           Rm. 212                                                

  Jane Bent                  Rm. 405

 155 River Street, Kentville, NS, B4N 1G8

 Telephone Number : 365-4700  (Front Desk)

         From now on, minutes of Congregational meetings

         will be  posted on the bulletin board in the hallway for

         anyone wanting to look at them. The church clerk will try

         to have the minutes available  a week or so after each

         meeting.

       You may have noticed that we have instituted a new mail

       system within the church!  We encourage you to check

       the folders.  If there is not a folder with your name on it,

       please let Ruth know and she will include one.

        Please Note:  For those who have an updated Church

        Directory  the  telephone number of the back cover for

        the: Church Vestry & Kitchen should read  - 

        (902) 542-3012

   Reusable Grocery Bags
   The Wolfville Area Food Bank would like to

   replace the use of plastic  grocery bags with

   the reusable type.  Would you be willing to

   donate some for their use?  If so, please drop

   them off at the Wolfville Baptist Church. 

   Thank you for your help in supporting this

   valuable service in our community.

Meals on Wheels  Have you thought you would

like to help people  in need but don’t think you

have the time? VON Annapolis Valley has a

volunteer opportunity for drivers on Monday,

Wednesday and Friday in the Meals on Wheels

program in Kentville and New Minas. For just 3

hours a month of your time you can help up to 8

seniors stay healthier because you delivered a hot

nutritious meal to their home when they needed it

most.  Drivers use their own cars and pick up a

maximum of 8 meals at the Valley Regional Hospital

at 12 noon and are finished by 1:00pm. Schedules

for driving are flexible and accommodate busy lives

so you to decide when you volunteer.  If you would l

ike to volunteer or to get more information

please call 690-2118 or 1-800-411-9646.

Apply to be a Foster Family! 

Call 1-800-565-1884

Many children in Nova Scotia need a Foster Family

and being a foster parent has many benefits.  Besides

developing parenting skills and being part of a

care-giving team, you get an incredible sense of

satisfaction.  So come on. If you are thinking of

becoming a foster parent, pick up the phone and call

1-800-565-1884 If you love to protect and nurture

children, there is a child in need of your care.

      Please remember to save your stamps! There is a collection envelope at the back of the Sanctuary as well as in the post office for all your cancelled stamps. These stamps are sold and the money raised goes towards buying non-medical essentials for the IWK.  It is especially important at this time of year as Commemorative stamps are more valuable!

There will be the Ladies Sunday School Classes during March Break. 

        Liz Johnson

Relief for Haiti   Canadian Baptist Ministries and The Sharing Way are responding to this disaster through Baptist World Aid (BWA), Action through Churches Together (ACT) and the French Baptist Union.  To assist with this emergency, you can donate online at www.cbmin.org/cbm/donate, you can give through your church offering envelope (mark your envelope “Haiti Relief”), or send a cheque marked "Emergency Relief" to Canadian Baptist Ministries, 7185 Millcreek Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 5R4. 

Remember the Sharing Way Project   “A LITTLE BOX OF CHANGE” box that was given out before Christmas.   Well, it’s time to bring it back to the church.  The monies raised from this project will help support the on-going work for the education of children of prisoners in Bolivian jails.  The Missions committee would like to say thank  you for your support of this project.

N.B. The Boxes can either be brought to church or to the Church Office during office hours.

A copy of the Habitat for Humanity Update has been posted on the noticeboard.

VON Annapolis Valley is currently seeking volunteers to assist in   the delivery of programs throughout the communities it serves.  There are currently volunteer positions available in office administration, packing and/or delivering of Meals on Wheels, assisting in the Adult Day Program, delivering of medical supplies, and receptionist duties at our various Foot Clinics.   Please call 678-1733 or toll free 1-800-411-9646 for more information.

Hello,   My name is Wendy Kearnes, and I am the ‘Books By Mail’ clerk for the Annapolis Valley Regional Library.  ‘Books By Mail’is a free outreach service provided for residents of the Annapolis Valley who live further than 10 kilometres from a library branch, or who are physically unable to visit a branch. This service is due to begin on September 4, 2007, however we are accepting registrations from this point on.

 If you or someone you know could benefit from this service, please contact me at toll free 1.866.922.0229, e-mail me at booksbymail@nsar.library.ns.ca, or visit our website www.valleylibrary.ca, choose ‘Services’ from the menu and then select ‘Books By Mail’.

 We would very much welcome the opportunity to discuss this service further and hope that the residents of the districts you serve will benefit greatly from this service.

      Information has been received from the Canadian Red Cross about    their Health Care Equipment Loan Program (HELP).  This program allows people who have an injury and are making the transition from hospital to home or who have a chronic illness to access health related equipment on a short term loan basis free of charge.  Donations for the service are gratefully accepted and receipted.  This service and other information on the work of the Canadian Red Cross, including contact details, is fully explained in the leaflets on the noticeboard at the back of the Sanctuary.

   Use of our Building  

Our building is open for use by various church and community organisations.  We feel that we have a first-class, wheelchair-accessible facility.  As trustees of this facility, we are responsible for the care of this building and its use by all parties.  We have identified several ways in which you and your group can help us to ensure that these facilities are used appropriately, efficiently, and safely.  To this end the Trustees have devised a policy to cover the use of the church facilities.  There is also a necessity to complete a form requesting the ‘Use of the Facilities’.  Both these documents can be collected from the Church Office during office hours.

List of Readers – Morning Service

Thank you to those who have offered to read.  However, we are still looking for others to volunteer to read the Scripture at the Morning Service.  Are there any of the young people from the congregation who would like to offer to read?  If you wish to volunteer, please contact the church office by telephone or via e-mail.  A rotational list will then be completed and circulated.  The reading will be forwarded to the reader prior to the designated Sunday.