The impetus for this dialogue is that these issues matter to us all.
Engaging in the arts changes the course of your life and your brain. Beginning from childhood, the arts foster mental development, sculpt brain maturation, and lessen the effects of poverty and social disadvantage. As we age, art provides a buffer against cognitive decline, allowing us to maintain an island of humanity in the face of a sea of mental, physical and brain loss.
Join us for this free event with music, dialogue & workshops hosted by Dr. Luis Fornazzari MD, FRCPC, Behavioural Neurology, University of Toronto.
In church tradition, the Day of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, has become known as a day to bless animals. The link to St. Francis and blessing animals flows from his theological stance regarding the care of creation and a belief of the interconnectedness of all things.
At Beach United Church, we plan to engage in this tradition through an outdoor service on Sunday, May 7 at 10:30am.
Bring your pets! All are welcome – from cats to cockatiels; hamsters to hares!
UPDATE: For photos and videos of our EcoFair 2023, please take a look at our Facebook and Instagram posts!
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We are excited to be hosting an EcoFair at Beach United on Saturday, May 6th from 10am-2pm.
Entry is free and welcome to everyone!
We will have more information on our 35+ vendors, exhibitors and speakers very shortly and will feature them on our social media accounts (Instagram / Facebook), so please stay tuned! If you’re interested in why a church might be interested in environmental issues, please take a look at this blog post.
SPEAKERS IN OUR MAIN HALL:
11am: Lana Goldberg from Environmental Defence Fund on “A Gas Plant Expansion in the east end of Toronto?”
12pm: Paul Dowsett – Retro Fit Coach from The Pocket Change Project
1pm Dr. Lori Stahlbrand from George Brown College on Food Sustainability
IN THE KITCHEN:
12:30pm: Nettie Cronish, organic chef, culinary instructor and cookbook author cooks up some delicious treats and you’ll get to sample
Beach United Church’s gardening group is a small group comprised of members of the congregation and interested members of the local community, who would get together once a week on Saturday mornings to tend the church garden. The garden itself expanded three years ago from around the building to include landscaping around the parking lot.
The garden continued to be a wonderful mix of bright colours and imaginative new ideas – the latter evidenced by Matt and Andy planting tobacco in the veggie containers, producing giant bright pink flowers and a shed full of drying leaves which were shared with an indigenous group for ceremonial purposes.
Acknowledgements
That once again this lovely display reappears in our church garden is a tribute to the many members of the congregation who have generously donated plants, and to the past gardeners at Beach United. Special acknowledgement is due to Sally Evans and Matt Canaran, who have now indicated they can’t continue with the garden due to other priorities. They are featured in the pictures above with other regular volunteers.
In the left picture is Matt (centre) with Shah and Andy at the initial planting of vegetable beds in May. The centre pictures includes Lynne (left), the other regular member of the group. In the picture on the right, Sally is tending the fast growing okra in the veggie beds, which have been regularly watered and cared for by Britta (right).
The Vision: local plants, minimal watering
An important feature of this garden is that it concentrates on local plants adapted to our climate, which do not need regular watering. So, NO WATERING is the rule, (apart from some special cases: when planting, and the raised vegetable beds).
What it all adds up to.. “A garden of colourful flowers”. The picture at the top of this page shows the garden at its peak, in early summer. To be followed shortly by late summer’s colourful flowers, sumac, hosta, bee balm, Japanese anenome, brown-eyed susans – lorded over by the three gloriously blooming Roses of Sharon!
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2023… It will be challenging: the departure of Matt and Sally will leave a huge hole, and new avenues may be required to provide the expertise and time required to maintain the garden in its present form, perhaps including reconfiguring for a new future.
If you are interested in joining or assisting with our gardening group, please contact Hastings at: hastings@withers.ca
