SAINT ANNE’S LENTEN INVESTMENT PROJECT, 2008

I got locked out of my blog! And I just wiggled my way back in! Just in time to share my Lent Project!

My church (St. Anne's Episcopal) does a nifty thing at Lent. We do a Lenten Investment Project. The church gives anyone willing $10.00 as seed money. Each year during Lent, various ones of us take that, add to it and do something to raise money for our outreach ministries. Each family does whatever they want to do. Bake cookies, sell crafts and arts (we have an accomplished potter and two excellent artists), sell "tickets" for babysitting, to do yardwork, dog wash, car wash, have an afternoon tea, etc. And those who don't raise the money, contribute.
This year I'm making and selling earrings (leverbacks and clip-ons). They’re all silver charms. I have four designs: Peace Wheel, Sand Dollar, Treble Clef, Acorn.
Why an acorn? Here in NC, the acorn is our symbol for New Year’s. Raleigh, the NC state capital, is the “City of Oaks.” Commissioned for the city's bicentennial in 1992 and crafted by sculptor David Benson, The Acorn (1,250 pounds of copper and steel) is hoisted from its post on a crane on New Year’s Eve and dropped (like NY’s glitzy ball) with appropriate count-down to mark the first instant of our new year. It’s much more meaningful than a glitzy ball! The promise of new life, symbol of good luck in Germany. the potential for great power in a small but potent package, a perfect symbol for power, fertility, and survival, often a symbol of patience and the fruition of long, hard labor. To keep this from getting out of hand, I'm only making about 10 of each design. 40 days, 40 earrings.