Working together in the Lord's name we can move mountains (of leaves)

Today, with the wind blowing hard and the sun shining, a few people started to gather, and then more and eventually we had a crowd gathered together. As Mathew wrote,

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

The Lord was certainly there in our midst as we toiled and labored to clean up Wright's Pond.  We had an amazing showing from Grace Church, the community of Medford and beyond.  In the short span of a few hours, a few more than 75 people (21 from Grace) collected 113 bags of lawn waste, a half dozen big bags of garbage and several bags of recyclables from around the pond and along the trails.  We also cleaned, scraped and painted three picnic tables, the Wright's Pond letters and the main gate, not to mention all the planting and weeding done in the various flower beds.

In addition to the amazing outcomes from today's work, including some statements like "I have to check that Grace place out" and "Maybe I'll switch teams to Catholic lite," we also experienced some miraculous generosity from the parish and community.  I have been pleasantly shocked by how generous our local businesses have been for this worthy cause.  We had a wonderful lunch today thanks to Kelly's Roast Beef, Mayor Michael J. McGlynn & Whole Foods Medford.  The City of Medford provided tons of tools and supplies as well as access to the parking and bathrooms at Wright's Pond.  We had delicious coffee thanks to the Magnificent Muffin & Bagel Shoppe as well as numerous individual contributors that helped make this amazing day possible.  The Friends of Wright's Pond helped to organize and publicize today's event and we had gloves and pokers thanks to the Friends of the Mystic River.  Thank you to everyone else who volunteered today and help make it happen.

And we are not stopping here.  Next Saturday, we are doubling the stakes and taking on the cleanup of two parks:

Saturday, May 22nd 9-11am

• Barry Park (Chris DesAutels)
• Carr Park (Linda Rogers)

Join us and sign up to volunteer or donate something for GreenUp CleanUp!

Enjoy the slideshow from the event: