Wednesday, January 28, 2009

"The Holy Grail"

Well, while the title may be a play on words I personally feel blessed by the generosity Alan and the rest of First United Church of Christ on Curry Ford have shown not just Food Not Bombs, but the entire community. I'm sure many of you are wondering where I'm going with this, and oh believe me, I'll get there.

While over at F.U.C.C. (yes, laugh at the acronym because we do too!) this previous Sunday night, I walked around the property and talked to Alan about the use of resources. While we were talking about the FNB office we have over there, and the copious amount of land we have planned for a community garden. I was focused on the back back shed. I say back back because there are two.

While currently the shed holds tables, and fertilizer, and gardening tools it could be utilized for something more, as right now it's just kind of used for storage. So, the question popped into my head and I blurted it out, "Hey Alan, could a bunch of use the back back shed for a bike co-op?" He said of course, as his genuine loving heart always agrees to help everyone out. So the second question came "Would you want us to pay rent?", I quietly said. "Of course not, that's a silly thing to ask," Alan joyfully said back.

So ladies and gents, here she is the proposed FREE building near Curry Ford and Conway. It also comes free with electricity (which I think we should donate an allotted amount of incoming donations to compensate for our usage, if we choose to utilize this space), and all this sweet black pipe, and PVC. The front "yard" if you will is where FNB plans to start a community garden in conjunction with anyone wanting to help and get their hands dirty, more word on that soon, but for now here are some picture I took the other day. Please discuss.





9 comments:

  1. hell yeah. and its like 2 blocks from my house!

    but i think use of that bbq grill is a deal breaker haha.

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  2. will have to ponder for sure. free is awesome. however some might be uncomfortable in its setting, however some might feel safer. could at least maybe use it to get the co-op up and running.

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  3. I understand what you're saying Jon. A lot of people, including yours truly, have had negative experiences with churches (emphasis on the lower "c" and the "es") in the past and currently. Heck, I still do. But, I tell you that the Church and this specific congregation is about forming community, and as having a coop in skill share fashion, forming community is what it's all about.

    It is irrelevant to the community what your beliefs are whether you identify as Buddhist, Jewish, Atheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Anarchist, or Republican. I think what is relevant is that we love and respect each other, and this is a perfect space, as of the community that is "congregating" there (ie. FNB, a Sunday Gathering, and other groups).

    I am in total agreement with you, and would love to have an open meeting about it where we can express concerns.

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  4. Great space and location and Free is beautiful but I will have to agree there are some concerns in my head to about if we will be able to operate like we have talked and ect. Mooj and I were talking yesterday anyways saying we really needed to make another meeting time because we were getting a lot done having a meeting each week.

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  5. your response is well put. and also i agree with ship that we should have another meeting.

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  6. I think there are some awesome pro's with this space. The fact that it is almost free is amazing. There are some questions I have though. What sort of community will be surrounding us, not just on property but the surrounding area. Is this a community that we can help? Is it centrally located enough to help all? Is it large enough for what we need? Any noise/access restrictions? Nice find btw Steve! Lets get a meeting set up soon. What day is good for everyone? Or most? Let's not be stagnant bc we are trying to make everyone get involved.

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  7. Monday may be too short of notice for some, but I am free.

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  8. Hmm, it's pretty far for me (something like 12-13 miles) but I do love the idea of having the fnb garden being there as I would love to help out with that as well.

    I checked the area with my iphone and it's across the street from a strip mall, and the neighborhood looks quiet. all pluses in my book.

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