Patrick Powers held up three or four carrots he'd just pulled out of the soil. Before he started gardening, numerous people or things might have touched those carrots before they reached his mouth: farmers, farmworkers, pesticides, food handlers, grocers all part of a system of efficient food-processing that he had some familiarity with working in the restaurant industry for 35 years.

Now, it's straight from the ground to his plate, a feeling he says he can't describe.

"It's fun being a farmer," he said.

Patrick rents a plot for $40 a year at Redeemer's Field, a year-old community garden on land owned by the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Sacramento, Calif.

The project, which broke ground in March of last year, transformed an empty church lot into a source of healthful and affordable food for community members.

The value of a community garden is clear, said Bill Maynard, who has helped build community gardens around Sacramento for 20 years and works as the community garden coordinator for Sacramento's Department of Parks and Recreation.

"It's about bringing the community in and showing they have worth," he said. Maynard advised the church throughout the construction process, from planning to financing and connecting the church with volunteers.

At Redeemer's Field, there are 20 occupied beds growing anything and everything, from bulbous watermelon and heirloom tomatoes to cinnamon basil and zucchini squash. Red grapevines hug one side of a bordering chain link fence, and a line of burgeoning fruit trees welcomes visitors near the entrance gate, open at all hours of the day. At the center lies a bed of proud sunflowers raised by a member who lives in an apartment across the street.

The garden's construction required many hands, including non-church members, neighbors and community service organizations such as AmeriCorps to till the soil, pave walkways and build wooden box plots. With much of the work done, the project is still expanding: A picnic bench area is planned to give visitors a proper place to sit.

The farm-to-fork movement isn't central to the mission of the church, which has held services at the site for 60 years, said Lisa Mulz, a member of the congregation who helped build the garden.

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Church garden cultivates beds, beauty and community

MIRI: Holy Trinity Anglican Church new building project commenced construction after an earth-breaking ceremony at the site yesterday.

The churchs Building committee chairman Pemanca Wilson Siang said the project is scheduled for completion in nine months.

The projects estimated cost is RM1.58 million and so far we have collected some RM700,000 in fund from charity and the government, he said at the ceremony attended by more than 100 peopel in Lambir.

Also present at the earth-breaking ceremony was Lambir assemblyman Ripin Lamat and Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Southeast Asia the Most Rev Datuk Bolly Lapok.

Moreover, Wilson said the new church building project needs to secure another RM700,000 in balance.

He added that initial cost of church construction was RM600,000 but due to more expensive materials, cost has increased including up-to-date facilities to be installed.

The new church capacity is around 500 congregates at one session, compared to currently 200.

Since the past two years, the church committee has been running around raising fund for the construction.

We received several grant allocations from the government through ministers and peoples representatives as well as keen individuals, he said.

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Demolition to widen Interstate 95 on Jacksonvilles Southside is feeding a court battle between the state and a hard-pressed church congregation over whats not being torn down.

Glorious Bethlehem Temple, a Pentecostal church near Philips Highway, was slated to be bought and bulldozed by the Florida Department of Transportation along with nearly two dozen houses in an area where a drainage pond was planned for the states Overland Bridge replacement project to rebuild miles of I-95.

After the church balked at the states offer for its 1954-vintage building, saying it couldnt build a replacement church for the $391,070 that was on the table, the state said it would rework the pond and leave the church where it was, ringed by empty, overgrown lots where homes were bulldozed.

So the church is suing, figuring members already spent years planning, buying land and making arrangements to move somewhere with neighbors again.

Its been a long haul, said Donald Richardson, pastor of the 85-member church on Wister Street two lots from the interstate. Its been four long, sometimes grueling years. We didnt come this far to not see this thing all the way through.

The highway project leaves the church isolated, and the state should pay to make up for that, a church lawyer said.

By intention, FDOT means to take the neighborhood, but leave the church, attorney Andrew Prince Brigham wrote when he filed the lawsuit. He argued the state was using a consummate bully tactic to push the church to sell at such a low price it violated the churchs property rights.

A Jacksonville jury should decide that, a judge ruled this month, denying state requests first to dismiss the lawsuit completely, then to move the case to a court in Tallahassee.

While it does not appear often, state courts in and outside of Florida have accepted this cause of action, Circuit Judge Virginia Norton wrote in her ruling, and said the issues at stake should be decided close to home.

A DOT spokesman said his agency isnt trying to bully anyone, and tried to find a solution that would serve the state and the church.

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I-95 construction leaving Jacksonville church in court fight with state DOT

Work to repair the damaged 117-year-old Park United Presbyterian Church in Zelienople could take six months once a construction contract is awarded, said the Rev. Paul Merrill, pastor.

What I understand is that they'll probably have to deconstruct the front wall all the way to the foundation and then build it back up, the pastor said.

Yet things are relatively normal after a runaway dump truck plowed into the church on July 14, he said.

The impact knocked down a large portion of the brick facade on the southwest corner of the building, warped stained-glass windows and scattered rocks and debris into the basement nursery, Merrill said.

Vacation Bible school went on as planned last week, said Amy Gilson, Bible school director, except for changing the location from the damaged church sanctuary to Park Hall, a rear fellowship hall.

The church's two Sunday morning worship services are being conducted in Park Hall as well. The pastor said about 110 people typically show up for the two services.

God is good in the midst of these kinds of things, Merrill said. Everything seems somewhat the same, except in a different building.

The accident forced about 15 food and craft vendors to relocate during Zelienople's Horse Trading Days community festival from July 17-19, said Zelienople-Harmony Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Ackerman.

An orange construction fence and chain-link fencing surround the work site, making part of the park beside the church unusable.

We had to cut out about half that area and relocated some crafters, Ackerman said. They usually go right up against the building and use that whole space.

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6-month fix expected for damage caused by truck slamming into Zelienople church

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -

Church Hill residents can expect some lane closures as the installation of several traffic circles will begin next Monday.

Alexis Hoeferlin lives at the intersection of Chimborazo Boulevard and Marshall Street.

I've seen people going much over the speed limit, and I consider this a residential area...lot of people on foot. A lot of children around, she said.

That's why she's all for new traffic circles the city is set to install next week, anything to slow down the traffic.

I think it's a great idea. There are a lot of people coming down Marshall and a lot of people who using Church Hill to get to one area to another."

The traffic circles will go up at several intersections...including at Chimborazo and Marshall Street, Chimborazo and N Street, as well as M Street and 27th, 30th and 32nd.

But not everyone is on board

I think this particular intersection doesn't have much need for a traffic circle. I don't see much traffic blockage in this street at all. And one think I like about m street is that there are no stop signs. A traffic circle going in will change that, said Conor Pel-Owen, referring to the intersection of M Street and 32nd.

The city will shut down several roads during construction.

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Construction on New Church Hill Traffic Circles to Begin Next Week

BISCOE The fire in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Biscoe Tuesday has been ruled undetermined electrical in nature.

Fire investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) made that determination, confirming the initial assessment by the Biscoe Fire Department on Tuesday. A construction project, including wiring for outside lighting, had recently been done in the corner of the sanctuary.

Biscoe Fire Chief Tripp Myrick said the next obstacle was to stabilize the brick walls that are slowly bowing out before they collapse. Biscoe Police have been closely watching the structure for any sign of collapse at night. Fire investigators have been on the scene during the day.

Church members and numerous citizens have also been by to offer condolences and to offer assistance.

Kelly Kellam had immediately offered warehouse storage space for any furniture or other items that were salvageable.

Myrick Construction Inc. crews were successful in removing most of the surviving stained glass windows on Thursday and will finish the delicate task on Friday. These were memorial windows installed when the present church on Main Street was built in 1950.

This was a blow to the town, Commissioner Jimmy Cagle said Wednesday. This church has touched everybody in town at some point in their lives.

First Baptist, under the leadership of the Rev. Larry Wilson and a strong Board of Deacons chaired by Nancy Ruppert, is known for its outreach ministries and diverse congregation.

Wilson, whose health issues have forced him to retire, preached his last sermon on June 29. The Sunday before, half the town had gathered for a retirement dinner and outpouring of love. Larry and Mary Wilson are not leaving Biscoe, just moving from the parsonage to another residence.

The church is not the building. The church is the people, and the people are strong, church members have said repeatedly.

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First Baptist fire cause determined to be electrical

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About seven years ago, congregation members at Austin Ridge Bible Church were looking to-repurpose the expansive back lot behind the church at 9300 Bee Cave Rd.

The problem was the terrain including a nearly 200-foot change in elevation didnt lend itself to traditional developments.

We thought it would be awesome to use the back lot of our property, Josh Thornton, the churchs director of facilities said. An original thought was some hike and bike trails, then when looking further at it was perfect for a disc golf course.

With the guidance of John Houck, arguably the father of Central Texas disc golf scene, the Austin Ridge Bible Church Disc Golf Course was born. An 18-hole course with two bonus holes, the narrow fairways and elevation changes provided a difficult challenge that attracts many of Central Texas' top disc golfers.

And thats the churchs goal provide a valuable public service on privately run land.

We dont have a ton of disc golfers in our congregation, Thornton said. It really was just the best plan of attack for that land.

On average 20 to 30 disc golfers play the course on weekdays, with that number spiking up to easily more than 100 on the weekends. Each of those rounds more than 300 a week wouldnt be possible without the work volunteers put in to build the course.

The biggest volunteer was Houck, who designed the course and worked closely with the church for free. Now with a vision in mind, members of the church and local disc golfers helped clear the land and built the fairways.

We did community work days and everybody pitched in, Thornton said. We sent out emails, and congregation members and the disc golf community responded and showed up for community work days.

The course construction also helped some local Boy Scouts complete their Eagle Scout projects. Scouts who eventually qualified for the orders highest honor installed all the hole signs, posts, baskets, four bridges and natural steps built into a hill on the course.

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Church turns land into disc haven

Christ Church July 21 2014
Christ Church construction progress video.

By: Whitener Jackson, Inc.

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Christ Church July 21 2014 - Video

Although the most accurate way to describe her relationship to St. John Neumann Catholic Church would be business partner, you wouldnt think it when you see members of a church committee shout out to Francesca Lofaro as she runs toward them for a hug Friday morning in front of the under-construction chapel.

It was the first time all summer that those who are working on renovations for the church ceiling and the chapel had seen Lofaro, who is the New York-based sales rep for the Italian company the church is working with.

The renovations have brought together a group of people, several of which have traveled to Texas from Italy for the installation and forged unlikely friendships.

Weve had a great time, said committee member and parishioner Lucille Lamy.

When well be finished, well be really sad, said Massimo Mellini, speaking in a thick Italian accent.

Mellini is the president of the Florence-based artglass and mosaics company that designed the churchs mosaic and the chapels stained glass. He has been in town to oversee the installation, and he and the church committee chat about the renovations more like old friends than business partners.

Its no surprise the St. John Neumann Arts and Environs committee has been working on these projects since 2007, researching everything from church decorative precedents to the individual designs, said Joanne Senn, who handles parish development. They paid for trips to Florence out of their own pockets to collaborate and see some of the results.

They are inexhaustible, Senn said. There is no amount of detail that can be researched; there is no amount of time that can be applied.

Its worth it for such a mammoth undertaking, committee members said. St. John Neumann is holding Mass in the churchs adjacent Holy Family center for the summer as workers begin decorating the once-gray ceiling of the churchs dome, one of the largest in the country, Senn said.

When parishioners return in the fall, theyll see four huge angels, one mosaic in each corner. If they look up, theyll see a Lamb of God mosaic at the center of the churchs dome. But the ceiling will eventually be covered entirely in a mosaic of small pieces of colorful glass, when the project is completed in the summer of 2016, church planners said.

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St. John Neumann brings new color to church, chapel