Church expanding from lettuce to libro

The community garden at La Iglesia de Dios de la Profecia (Church of God of the Prophecy) in Georgetown is thriving. And the church’s services to its community have also continued to grow in the year since the church, which has a few hundred members – most of whom are originally from Guatemala – and their pastor, the Rev. Dr. Anastacio Matamoros (a native of Nicaraugua and a New York state transplant) were featured for their community garden in the Coastal Point last summer, in the Going Green section.

According to Rodney Smith, a local Realtor and member of the Sussex County Planning Commission who has been very involved with the Hispanic community in Georgetown and as been a friend of Matamoros for years, the garden now has an irrigation system, more weed control and a more organized effort.

Originally created as both a money-saver and something to bring the church community together, the garden symbolizes the fact that, when planting seeds, hard work and attention often bear fruit.

But planting seeds doesn’t always mean growing food to eat. Sometimes, the harvest is when a child grows up and can appreciate all that their parents, family and friends have invested in them.

The newest project at the church aims to do just that. A children’s lending library, packed full of old favorites, in English and in Spanish – and some new favorites, as well – is now a place where children can go to grow in their faith and in their education.

Smith said the idea came to him after hearing day after day of news reports concerning Earl Bradley, a Lewes pediatrician who has been indicted on more than 500 counts of rape and other sexual offenses against patients at his pediatric practice.

“I wanted to do something for children, to have some type of positive impact,” said Smith, adding that, after the reports about Bradley came out, he felt as though the Hispanic community could very well have been victimized and might be suffering in silence.

Smith contacted author and early childhood expert Joan Reynolds from Woodstock, N.Y., who gave him the idea for a children’s lending library as a way to bring families together.

Smith said the he has hopes that it will be a benefit to the entire community, as families will enjoy the books and the time it gives them together and then will return them so others can enjoy them, as well.

Reynolds said the importance of such a lending library is paramount in the community.

“The most important part of this beginning library is the number of popular children’s story books in Spanish,” she said. “It means that parents more proficient in their first language have books to read to their children. When you see and read books in your native language, it gives value to the language and strengthens the bond between you and your heritage, as well as the bond between child and parent.”

For obvious reasons, Reynolds said, Hispanic parents may be less likely to use the local public library, which means a more personalized library – like the one at a local church – may be better able to meet their needs.

“They may feel intimated or uncomfortable. They might feel their English is not good enough to navigate the library, or transportation might not be available,” she said. “If the local library does not have a selection of children’s books in Spanish, that might mean a parent can’t read the book to his or her child. Hence the value of a library in a community church that is the center of so many activities.

“Here, it is both convenient and comfortable,” Reynolds added. “Think of all the opportunities for children to use the library besides during nursery school – while parents are socializing, at meetings, at church or in the garden.”

For those who might not attend the church but who are interested in borrowing Spanish-language books or receiving other library services in Spanish, many of local libraries – including Frankford Public Library and Selbyville Public Library – do offer plenty of resources for Spanish-speaking people, including books and movies in both English and Spanish, and bilingual librarians. For more information, visit the Sussex County Department of Libraries online at http://sussex.lib.de.us.