Bees

Sauce is great success

Parishioners gather regularly to produce the fudge sauce in massive quantities-more than 400 jars in the latest session, all of which get stored in the vicar's office! Sales have brought in several thousand dollars for the outreach program.

Some people traditionally heat the sauce and pour it over ice cream. Some spread it on graham crackers for a s'more effect or drizzle it over cream puffs. And some just eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Along with selling the half-pint jars of fudge sauce, the church produces three types of gift baskets. One contains the makings for hot fudge sundaes, complete with bowls, spoons, toppings and a certificate for a half-gallon of ice cream. Another basket appeals to s'more lovers, and the third is a "snack attack" basket intended for college students during exams week. All baskets include jars of hot fudge sauce and sell for $20.00, plus shipping. Individual jars of fudge sauce sell for $3.00, plus shipping.

Welcoming bees to gardens

Inspired by the success of the fudge sauce project, one parishioner donates all the proceeds from his Bee-Attitude House Kit to the St. James outreach fund.

The Bee-Attitude House kit is designed for orchard or mason bees. This small variety of bee rarely stings, yet controls the population of aphids in the garden and aids in the pollination of flowers. Each hole is a nest for an individual female, who appears in mid-July and stays until late fall.

Made with a sturdy cedar roof for outdoor use, each kit includes tubes which line the nesting holes, tools for insertion and extraction of tubes (enabling the cleaning and re-use of this house), as well as information on the techniques of attracting the bees, their habitat preferences and ideas to enhance your garden. The finished house is 3" x 3" x 9" and sells for $15.00, plus $3.00 shipping.

Anyone can obtain sauce and kits

Any of these items can be ordered from St. James Episcopal Church, 200 W. High St., Piqua, Ohio 45356, 1-877-534-4855, or stjames@lts.net.

It's like a little taste of heaven! St. James Episcopal Church, Piqua, Ohio, has begun a new project: making hot fudge sauce. The special recipe came from the Rev. Art Good, deacon at St. James, who has produced the sauce for his friends and family for many years.

Creative response to deficit

When faced with a deficit budget this year, parishioners came together and brainstormed for ideas. The goals of maintaining the evangelistic mission of the church and continuing with the church's outreach programs, such as an extremely active food pantry, remained of utmost importance. Out of that brain-storming came "Heavenly Hot Fudge - the only thing sweeter is God's love!"