The Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women (PNCW) welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney to celebrate the beginning of its garden season with a harvest blessing on April 29. The bishop led prayers and songs and blessed the garden beds.
The ceremony included Salesian Sister Theresa Lee, Paterson Diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious. Sister Margaret Gaffikin of the Franciscan Sisters of Peace also attended. She is a PNCW founding community member, an Advisory Board member, and a English as a Second Language volunteer tutor at the center.
Staff of the PNCW and many of the women it serves attended the blessing. The center offers women a garden bed to grow fresh produce for their families. Those who receive a garden are responsible for taking care of it with the help of a mentor from the Northeast Earth Coalition, a Montclair-based ecological non-profit organization.
The PNCW gives women, mostly mothers of young children, the opportunity to participate in various programs, including education, training, and advocacy services. The center provides a place that has fostered self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and community participation through workshops, seminars, and classes. PNCW was founded by a collaborative effort of religious communities within the diocese.
Information: TheCenter@pncwomen.org or call 973-470-0844.
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