Remember the “Day of Discussion” you helped sponsor about 4 years ago? And The Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden you helped sponsor earlier this year? Well, as November 13th approaches, my 60th birthday (Yikes!) I’ve decided to combine both ideas into a conference.
It’s no surprise gardens figure so prominently in most world religions and philosophies. I see why gardens are so often the subject of artists’ renderings, poets’ prose and the muse of lovers and musicians. Gardens are cyclical spaces of creation, planning, planting, digging, weeding, harvesting, dying…and they are spaces of peace. Gardens exhibit the acceptance of the passing seasons knowing each winter’s dormancy and death will be followed by another spring of new and returning life. Yeah, there are way more than 60 life lessons in gardening, but I’ve just compiled 60 and that compilation will be one of the gifts at the conference.
60 Life Lessons from the Garden will be held on Sat, Nov 15, 2014 from 8:00 am-4:00 pm in the newly remodeled, state-of-the-art conference & banquet space in the Fellowship Hall at the Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 1200 Brentnell Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219. Tickets are $60 and includes all the information, insights, and interactions with the speakers, gifts…and a lot of food which I’ll be cooking…you’ve seen my Facebook posts…you know you want some of that food!;)
Tickets can be purchased online directly via PayPal http://bit.ly/1D6DNRB or at https://telosinc.org/telos-events/upcoming/
I’m so excited and humbled by a great group of women whose birthday gift to me is their donated time and travel to fly in and share their insights with us…
Liana Asim, extraordinary playwright, actor, wife of public intellectual Jabari Asim (author, The “N” Word), mother of 5 (!)and grandmother. Her topic:The Importance of a Raised Bed: Why Creating a Structured Space for Love Matters.”
Barbara Nabrit Stephens, wife, mother, grandmother and board-certified pediatrician with 30+ years of health care experience. Her topic: Seed Starting: The Essential Nature of Nursing, Organic Feeding & Good Nutrition.
Sylvia Wong Lewis, wife, CEO of Narrative Network and creator of the award-winning documentary “From Shanghai to Harlem” detailing her multicultural family’s story. Her topic: We’re all Heirloom Seeds: Why Knowing your Family’s Story is Critical.
Patricia Patton, mother, grandmother,blogger and social media guru,BoomerWizdom – A Health, Tech and Travel Blog hosted on BlogHer Publishing Network. Her topic: Spreading Your Seeds: Learning to Master Social Media Responsibly and Profitably
And me, Paula Penn-Nabrit…(here’s my blurb), between being a wife and a widow, she completed law school, homeschooled three sons, founded consulting firm PN&A, Inc., authored several books, lectured across the U.S., Europe and Asia, founded a non-profit, TelosTraining Inc. – and continues to teach Sunday School. Her topic: Bio-Diversity: Great for the Garden and for Life!
So should you come and support this conference? If you believe in the economics of gardening, that growing your own food is like printing your own money-the answer is Yes! If you believe urban food deserts need to be eradicated and that folks should have access to affordable, organic food-the answer is Yes! If you believe there’s a nexus between God’s creation in the garden and Jesus’ return to one-the answer is Yes! If you believe childhood obesity increases the risk of diabetes and you know it’s a growing scourge in our communities-the answer is Yes! If you believe conversations that are diverse and inclusive are so important to any quest for justice and peace that you can listen to competing views-the answer is Yes! And if you want to spend some time with some very interesting people and eat some really, really, really good home-cooked & healthy food-the answer is definitely Yes!
So see, for all that holistic goodness the $60 conference fee is a bargain…(that’s what? 3 pizzas, 6 trips to Starbucks or 50% of a trip to the hair salon-slap me when I start lying;) If we can get 60 folks (notice the 60 theme?;) in there, we’ll be able to cover expenses and have some to put aside to purchase a Greenhouse to host our community classes on Seed Starting and Transplanting. We may even have enough to purchase a few espalier fruit trees for this Spring. We’ve already planted 5o Tulip bulbs, 50 Daffodils and a Coral Peony Collection. Spring will indeed be glorious in The Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden. The benefit of planning ahead is another lesson from the garden…