Greetings! Welcome to our "Grounds for Growth." We are anticipating many great hours with you and others from our Canby community, sharing gardening tips, life stories, food preparation ideas, and maybe even some unexpected life encouragement and wisdom. As we look toward another growing season we are reminded of the number of growth metaphors related to life. We often talk about "sowing seeds" and "harvesting the fruit" of our labors. God has much to teach us through the soil, the seeds, the weeds, and the vegetables and fruits which come at the end of the growth process. We at Canby United Methodist Church are looking forward to growing with you this year through the ministry of the Community Garden. We would love to hear your stories and how the garden touches your lives. Please feel free to contact me through the church office to share stories, ask questions, or to connect more directly with Canby UMC. Looking forward to growing together!

Pastor Dylan

Be the Gardener of My Soul  
by Richard Foster

Spirit of the living God, be the Gardener of my soul. 
For so long I have been waiting, silent and still.  
--experiencing a winter of the soul.  
But now, in the strong name of Jesus Christ,  
I dare to ask: Clear away the dead growth of the past,  
Break up the hard clods of custom and routine,  
Stir in the rich compost of vision and challenge,  
Bury deep in my soul the implanted Word,  
Cultivate and water and tend my heart,  
Until new life buds and opens and flowers.