August 3, 2009

This is the day the Lord has made. Last week when I was in St. Cloud, I stopped at Clemens Gardens to see the beautiful flowers. I was impressed by the statue of Mr. and Mrs. Clemens that was recently installed near the rose garden. This cool weather and recent rains have been a blessing to both vegetable and flower gardens. There are beautiful ones all around town.

Last Saturday was the Paint-A-Thon in Morrison County. Volunteers painted seven homes. The first eager beavers completed their job by 10 a.m.! We served breakfast to about 100 painters before they began their work. (The Franciscan Sisters donated 12 dozen cinnamon and caramel rolls.) Home owners fill out an application form and need to meet the guidelines to be selected to have their home painted. The Home Fix-Up and Paint-A-Thon are part of the Oasis Share A Meal program. I like the wording on the tee-shirts: “A Brush With Kindness.” This project is really is a brush with kindness. And everyone seemed to have had a good time.

The big event this week is the third Green Fair and Peace Concert on Wednesday, August 5th from 4 to 8 p.m. on the west lawn of St. Francis Convent, Little Falls. Last year we had 22 vendors, with over 800 attendees. There are activities for all ages. Food will also be available. The Eco Fashion Show will return again this year—most items coming from the Clothes Review. Music will be featured throughout the afternoon and evening--starting at 4 p.m. The St. Francis Peace Choir will perform at 6 p.m., followed by the bands from the URock Camp. These youth have been practicing the past couple weeks. It should be a fun evening. A new feature this year will be Verde Strategies. They are offering a pre-sale of rain barrels designed from reused 55-gallong plastic food barrels. Rain barrels are an old idea coming back to use rain roof run-off for watering gardens or washing your car, To pre-order your rain barrel, contact Jenifer at 632-0691. I hope you can come.

Sunday, the 9th, we will again have LOTS of activity at the Convent when we celebrate the Golden Jubilees for seven of our Sisters. We will have very many guest and we will all have a good time! Congratulations, Sisters. Thank you for 350 years of service as Franciscan Sisters.

Peace and blessings.
May you have a safe week.
Let us continue to pray for seasonable rain and protection from storms.
Sister Mary Lou

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