On the Parish House Lawn

The Parish House lawn has been a busy place this past week! A sunny and slightly hotter than normal early evening created the perfect setting for the annual Ice Cream Social on Tuesday evening. Elsie Farnham, who  organized the event, along with her  staff of “scoopers,” Pam Dietz, Richard Howe and Randy Chapman, made sure that no one went away disappointed. And for an added treat, Elaine Howe served up slices of cake provided by the Historical Society as part of Tunbridge’s 250th Anniversary celebration.

Just three days later, on a similarly sunny, though somewhat cooler evening, the Youth Service Group gathered on the lawn for games and Italian Water Ice (thanks to Dominick and Lisa Amodeo). While we enjoyed our frozen treat we talked about our current project, collecting items for school kits which will be distributed to children through the  Church World Service disaster relief program. We tried to put ourselves in the places of children who had recently lost their homes and communities because of floods or tornadoes. We asked the question, “If you had to leave your home with only 10 minutes notice, what three items would you take with you?” “What would you miss the most if you lost it forever?” Assuming that other family members and pets would be safe, answers ranged from photo albums to first aid kits to a special bracelet that was a gift from a sibling.  How would you answer those questions?