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Gather & Grow

Rebuilding the Family Economy

Gather & Grow
  • Events
  • Our Story
  • What We Do
  • The Family Economy
  • Resources
  • Give
  • Family Economy

Annual Gathering

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    Location
    The Grovestead Farm
    6200 134th St E Northfield, MN

    Date/Time
    Date(s) - Friday, September 2, 2022 - Saturday, September 3, 2022
    2:00 pm

    Our second annual gathering of newsletter readers and kindred friends is scheduled for Labor Day weekend in September. The event is held right on our farm in Northfield, Minnesota. Come and be encouraged in your journey towards self-sufficiency and resilient households.

    Our theme this year is Christian Community. Family historian and author Allan C. Carlson will keynote and share his thoughts on building Christian community in times past and present. Allan’s writings on the family economy have been profoundly influential on our family and he has been a steadfast friend to the Groves household. We are excited to host him this year.

    Rory and Becca will also speak on the family economy, self-sufficiency, and the importance of intentional community now more than ever.

    Speakers

    Dr. Allan C. Carlson is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, founder of the World Congress of Families, and editor of The Natural Family: An International Journal of Research and Policy. He has authored 15 books including The Natural Family Where It Belongs: New Agrarian Essays. He resides with his wife Betsy on their multi-generational farm in Illinois.

    Read an interview with Allan Carlson here.


    Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.


    Becca Groves is a mother of six, married to a never-saw-it-comin’ aspiring farmer in Southern Minnesota. As new farmers, I write about our transition from the city to the country with hopes of sharing our joy and gratitude for all that we are learning.

    Schedule of Events

    THURSDAY, September 1st

    • 5:00PM – Thank You Dinner for Donors
      Special dinner at our farm with Allan Carlson for monthly supporters of Gather & Grow (please RSVP separately)

    FRIDAY, September 2nd

    • 1:30PM – CHECK-IN
    • 2:00PM – OFFICIAL START & WELCOME
                        Created for Community – Becca Groves
    • 3:30PM – America’s Original Intentional Community – Allan C. Carlson
    • 5:00PM – POTLUCK PICNIC – main dish provided, bring a side to share
    • 6:30PM – Against the Grain: Covenant Community in an Age of Autonomy – Rory Groves
    • 7:30PM – FELLOWSHIP TIME

    SATURDAY, September 3rd

    • 8:30AM – COFFEE & DOUGHNUTS in the Barn
    • 9:00AM – Why Communities Fail – Allan C. Carlson
    • 10:00AM – Parallel Economies or Inheriting the Earth? Perils and Promises on Our Way Out of Egypt – Rory Groves
    • 11:00AM – BREAK FOR LUNCH
      (restaurants in town or bring your own picnic, fridge/freezer space available)
    • 1:00PM – Community and the Land: What Agrarianism Has to Say about Christian Community – Allan C. Carlson
    • 2:00PM – SHARING & SENDING

    * Childcare will be available during speaker sessions

    Lodging

    • We have reserved a block of rooms at GrandStay hotel in Faribault, MN. Contact the hotel directly at 507-334-2888 and ask for reservations under Becca Groves to get the discounted rate of $132 for double beds and $119 for a king bed.
    • There are also numerous AirBNBs around town.

    Camping Off-site:

    • Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is a few miles away and can host camp sites and RVs.

    * We do not have on-site camping this year


    Sorry... This event is fully booked!


    Please email family@gatherandgrow.us to be added to the waiting list for this event and we will notify you if any spaces open up.


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    I do not know a joy more thrilling than the first I do not know a joy more thrilling than the first snow of the year! What fun, what fun.
    This is the first cut bouquet I made all season. I This is the first cut bouquet I made all season. It took the threat of frost to get me out there! Elsie is good about cutting flowers to bring inside, but I think I had this in the category of ‘not-totally-necessary’…you know, with lots going on with kids and a farm. But that was the wrong category! I enjoyed cutting the flowers and arranging them so, so much (which shouldn’t be a huge surprise since I’m my mom’s daughter…) Anyway, we were suddenly motivated to keep these beauties alive a little longer so we covered the tall celosia late last night and woke to a site very much like ghosts in the garden. But it was just flowers tucked in for the frost.
    Elsie said to me, “mom, my history text book has Elsie said to me, “mom, my history text book has ideas for family projects and usually I just read about them and move on, but this one wants us to make a model of Stone Henge with Rice Krispie bars and I think we should probably do it.” I told her this was a good catch. Her education would suffer if we missed this project…
    It was discovered a few weeks ago that the same Sa It was discovered a few weeks ago that the same Saturday Alden turned 7 was the same Saturday we were butchering 90 chickens. Obviously a chicken birthday party was coming our way. 🎉🐓🎉 I blogged about the whole thing: family-scale butchering and this epic hen cake. www.thegrovestead.com
    My very favorite part of our Gather and Grow Farm My very favorite part of our Gather and Grow Farm dinner fundraiser was my dad praying before the meal. Which is saying a lot because the night was without a hitch, the kids played beautiful music, the people gathered were salt of the earth and the food was fantastic. Rory and I gave a presentation telling stories and sharing pictures. But man, when my dad prayed I could feel a peace fall on the room. He was asked in the moment, mostly to get him to stop talking to the caterer…but then he started to pray and you know, I grew up hearing him pray every Sunday at church, each time we ate, and every night when he tucked me in. But it had been a while. And it was so special to have his blessing over the whole night. I just don’t want to ever forget that.
    Tonight we have our annual fundraising dinner for Tonight we have our annual fundraising dinner for Gather & Grow, and I thought I’d extend the invitation to give and support this two-year-old ministry. The Lord is doing a mighty work, turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. We are going toe to toe with the some@pretty huge cultural giants saying the trade of relationships and intact families for material wealth and consumption was a poor trade. It has left us yearning for community, friendship and meaning. Which is where the family economy comes in. I could write a book right here- but Rory already has! 😅 So just know that we need partners in this work. You will  be joining an effort that is just beginning. It’s exciting! Go to gatherandgrow.us and on the Give page you can join as a Giving Partner. (And I’ll send you a copy of that book!)
    Gather & Grow
    Rebuilding the Family Economy

    P.O. Box 326
    Northfield, MN 55057

    Gather & Grow Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

    “We urge you, brothers . . . to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

    —1 THESSALONIANS 4:10-12

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