Ruwach Christian Church | ASK

Kitchen Garden

Luke — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:06:30 +0000

Welcome to the home of the Ruwach Kitchen Gardeners – a motley collection of people with varying levels of experience of growing their own fruit and vegetables, but bound together by a love for Jesus Christ and freshly harvested food!

The Ruwach Kitchen Garden Vision:

We are people who share a passion to learn about and to enjoy growing and using the many aspects of God’s abundant Creation – not only home grown vegetables and fruit, but also the rich harvest of natural food to be found in the local hedgerows. We want to share our knowledge and enjoyment of growing our food, but also to turn God’s abundant provision into soups and stews, jams and jellies, cordials and syrups, pickles and chutneys! And as we share our excitement in working together in this project, we also want to involve our non-Christian friends and relations as well – a means of outreach, reaching out grubby hands of love to others.

The Initial Plan

In spring 2009 we started creating a kitchen garden on the site of an old vegetable patch belonging to some fellow members of Ruwach Christian Church. This has given opportunities for the very young and the (very) old – and every one in between – to get as involved as they want to – to dig & delve, or just to stand and watch, offer advice or test & taste the results of our labour!

Now the soil is once again yielding crops of fruit, vegetables and flowers. And eventually it will also become a place for quiet and rest; a still place away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Progress so far

Since we started we have brought more and more of the area under cultivation. We are well into our second growing season now, but even in the first year the garden yielded some good crops.

The 2010 Season

Early on we were busy planting potatoes and sowing a wide range of seeds. Now we are seeing the fruits of our labours! As well as potatoes we have had crops of courgettes, beetroot, peas and beans – and now carrots, parsnips and onions too. And for the winter there are thriving plots of brassicas and leeks. We are still bringing more land under cultivation.

In spring we invited our Children’s Church to come and help us sow seeds and to start growing flowers and vegetables on their very own plot. These are now flowering and cropping too!

The battle continues against weeds and pests! In April we planted a 50 metre stretch of “edible hedge” which contains a wide range of natural hedging species. Despite the dry conditions this is establishing and will soon be producing a varied harvest of fruit and berries.

The Next Stage:

We have started to “tidy up” the garden, a task that has taken second place to sowing and growing until now. Eventually it will be to the “Chelsea Flower Show Standard”!

As well as developing the vegetable garden further, a more ornamental and ecological “Edible Garden” is beginning to take shape. This will contain fruit and herbs and vegetables as well as flowers, all growing together and supporting one another! We have started by building a raised bed for strawberries and another two small raised beds, one for summer-fruiting and another for autumn-fruiting raspberries.

The Kitchen Garden Blog

For those who want to know more and find more related information, why not have a look at our Ruwach Kitchen Garden blog. There you will find a range of subjects including great recipes, advice and more photos.

Here’s the link

Join us!

Already our group is gaining new members. We welcome anyone who is interested. Come along and see what we are up to – but be prepared to get grubby hands!

If you are interested please contact the Ruwach Office (HH 459025), Peter Sargent (HH 412419) or John Partis (HH 455530).

“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown” - Luke 3:8

“But the seed on the good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart who hear the Word, retain it and by persevering, produce a crop” - Luke 8:15

Alpha Course

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:29:26 +0000

The Alpha course is designed primarily for people who aren’t churchgoers and each course is open to everyone who would like to attend.
As a course, Alpha attracts a diverse range of guests of different ages and backgrounds, holding many different viewpoints. Over 7,000 churches are currently running the Alpha course across the UK in rural and urban settings, including every major UK city. People find out about the Alpha course in a number of ways – a recommendation from a friend, a poster, flyer, newspaper article or advert, or through the website or an internet search.

Why attend the Alpha course?

Guests do Alpha for a wide variety of reasons – some want to investigate whether God exists; others are concerned about what happens after death. Some people have particular questions that they would like to discuss; others want to understand other peoples’ beliefs or would like to explore what the purpose of life is. Many guests have never been to church, others may have attended church occasionally but feel they have never really understood the basics of the Christian faith. Some courses are specifically tailored for a particular setting or group – such courses are held in gyms, prisons, offices, residential homes, universities, parent and toddler groups, youth clubs, armed forces bases and schools; Some courses are run specifically for people who are hard of hearing, blind and those whose command of English is lower.

We are currently running an Alpha course on Thursday evenings. Please contact the church office for more details: 01444 459025

Redemption Group

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:57:15 +0000

The Redemption Group is a mentorship group that meets weekly to support men seeking freedom from addiction and other issues. It is a great time of food, fellowship and support. Other activities are arranged from time to time, and some of the men enjoyed a weekend away camping. If you would like to discuss any issues in an informal setting, please call the office on 01444 459025.

Parental Support

admin — Sun, 15 May 2011 12:54:03 +0000

We have a vision to be able to offer support and assistance to families living with a single parent in the form of friendship, babysitting, respite care and provision of the occasional meal or outing. We need someone to head this up, and we need volunteers who feel called to this enjoyable activity. If this is you, please call the church office on 01444 459025.

Men’s Ministry

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:28:11 +0000

The Ruwach men meet weekly on a Tuesday evening as a cell where they receive fellowship, prayer support and teaching in a home environment. There are men’s breakfasts at regular intervals throughout the year on Saturdays, with a full English breakfast and a testimony from a church member or a visiting speaker. These are very popular! The men also enjoy golf, badminton, 5-a-side football and other sporting activities together. For more information, ring the church office on 01444 459025.

Ladies Ministry

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:18:30 +0000

Ladies meet every Tuesday morning for fellowship, and prayer support in a home environment. There are also ladies’ cells which meet on a Wednesday evening, and three or four times a year an evening is organised with a meal, followed by a testimony from a church member or a visiting speaker. Many ladies have been blessed by these occasions. Opportunity is given to attend ladies’ weekend or day conferences from time to time. If you are interested in any of these events, ring the church office for more information on 01444 459025.

Little Treasures

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:08:13 +0000

This is a weekly opportunity for parents to bring their pre-school children to play together for a couple of hours while the parents enjoy refreshments and time to relax. The supervisors are CRB-checked, and health and safety regulations are adhered to.

Little Treasures runs every Friday morning, term time only, from 10am – 11:30am. Anyone with pre-school children is welcome. Please contact the Church office on
012444 459025 for further details.

Helping Out

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:13:51 +0000

Ruwach Christian Church getting out into the community to show people the love of Jesus by practically supporting them.

Doing, as well as saying, was at the heart of Jesus’ mission of love, and He wants His church to do the same. Helping Out mobilises teams of volunteers from amongst the congregation who go out for 3-5 hours on a Saturday, once a month, to meet needs in the local community. If you are a member of Ruwach Christian Church then we need your help. You can get involved in three simple ways:

1. Pray – although this ministry is practical in nature it needs the same spiritual resources as all the church’s activities. Please pray that God will stir people to participate and open doors into needs in our community and use Helping Out to bring the love of Jesus to people.
2. Volunteer – Helping Out will only happen if you get involved. To volunteer get registration pack from the Church Office, fill in the forms, return them to the Office, and you can make a practical contribution to touching people with the love of Jesus.
3. Look – we need to find the needs to meet so keep your eyes and ears open and let us know of any situation that you become aware of where you think we might be able to help.

If you are not a member of Ruwach Christian Church then we still need your help. We are seeking to identify the needs in our community through personal contacts, as well as through contact with agencies working in the community (e.g. Social Services, Age Concern, etc.). You can help us find people who would benefit from us helping out. If you think we might be able to help you or someone you know, then please contact us via the Church Office. There will be some tasks that we cannot undertake due to the need for special authorisation, particular expertise or the level of resources involved, but if you are aware of a need please get in touch and we will see what we can do to help. The work of Helping Out will be carried out by volunteers, but with competent supervision. Helping Out aims to deliver excellent quality on all projects. Helping Out will provide labour and equipment for a project free of charge. Helping Out will not in general be able to cover the costs of materials for a project. There may be exceptions to this in certain special cases. Helping Out may also be able to provide help in sourcing materials in some cases.

Marriage Ministry

Luke — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:39:28 +0000

Going Deeper

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:56:55 +0000