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Fruitful City is an initiative of many churches in Almere: the Protestant Congregation, the Roman Catholic Parish, the Reformed Church Freed, Grace Communion International in Almere, the evangelical groups and migrant churches of the ECA platform (Evangelisch Contact Almere). All different church movements with the same goal: to show the beauty of nature and to share the story of God's creation with the visitors of the Floriade. Do all those different churches go together? Yes, of course! We work in Almere in an ecumenical context. Due to the good contacts that have arisen, there is very broad support from ecclesiastical Almere for this project. And it is nice to work together!

Why is the church present at the Floriade?

In 2016, the church on the floriade foundation was established by the churches of Almere. The theme: 'Growing Green Cities' appealed to the imagination, because we know God as our Creator of nature. Our theme: ‘the nature, the creation of God and our care of the earth’.

Thinking about the Future, there was the realization that a green city is beautiful, but is by definition not yet liveable. John's vision in Revelation, of the city coming down from on high where the fruits of the Spirit grow and God Himself dwells, is what we look forward to as Christians. What an opportunity to pass this on to the visitors of the Floriade.

What do we present?

A garden with a small “chapel (sustainable) has been chosen, and a labyrinth and 12 statues, each depicting a fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 and  1 Corinthians 13.  Visitors can enjoy the plants and shrubs with biblical names and meditate along the route past the statues.  

What kind of activities do we have in in the garden of the churches?

- You can freely visit our garden with the Tiny Church, labyrinth and the 12 works of art. There is a brochure with information about the artists and their work (2,50 euro). And a booklet to use as a meditative guide to the artworks.( 1 euro)and a Liturgical Flowerarrangement magazine for 9 euro.

- There are special programs on some days. i.a. Green Churches, Laudato Si, Young Protestant and the Village Church Movement present these programs. The programs of Jong Protestant are intended for children and teenagers. For current information, visit www.fruitfuclity and click on the months of the agenda. Or look on Facebook: Church at the Floriade 2022.

- A few times there is a monastic walk led by Kick Bras and members of Nijkleaster.

- You can light a candle in the Tiny Church

- Every week there is a flower arrangement to admire. A flower arrangement about faith, hope and love.

- In the Tiny Church there are continuous informative videos about sustainability and about the construction and technology of the Tiny Church and the landscaping.

- Every Sunday afternoon there is a short meditation on one of the fruits of the Spirit. Various pastors from Almere take care of this.

- You can visit with your group or congregation for a day and plan your own program and/or short celebration in the Tiny Church. You must register with Mr. Frans Danenberg: f_t_jdanenberg@hotmail.com. The entrance fee applies to groups: https://floriade.com/nl/prijsinformatie/groep/

How can you help?

Hostess/host

We are still looking for people who want to be hostess for one or more half-days: to welcome and show the way. The information for visitors is available via QR codes and partly on paper. In different languages. So you don't have to tell a story. Things outside and in the Church speak for themselves. There are many places for refreshments on the Floriade grounds. Register as hostess/host with Mrs. Corrie Wassink: chwassink62@gmail.com

Pastors from all churches in Netherlands are given the opportunity to hold a short celebration on a Sunday afternoon for the visitors present about a fruit of the Spirit or creation. Please contact Frans Danenberg for this. Or fill in the form at www.fruitfulcity.nl/doet-u-mee/  

Prayer in order to be able to bear witness to God's greatness and love at the Floriade, we ask you to take this project with you in your prayer.  

Financial support The costs of the entire project are not small. The foundation does not fall under the Floriade BV. We have our own budget without support from Floriade BV. Fortunately, a number of funds contribute and we receive gifts and collections. At the moment we still need 20,000 euros for the design of the garden, equipment for volunteers and the organization. We hope for your gift. Any amount helps and is much appreciated.

The bank account number of Stichting Kerk op Floriade in Almere is NL15 TRIO 03 38 74 97 64. BIC van Triodos Bank is TRIONL2U. The gift is tax deductible in the Netherlands. RSIN no. 85 80 01 780. You can also donate with the donate button at https://www.fruitfulcity.nl/doneer/

Tiny Church / Tiny House for sale

We were able to finance the construction of the Tiny Church with a favorable loan from a number of churches from the Netherlands. We will repay these loans by selling the Tiny Church. This building can be dismantled and is suitable as a Tiny House or chapel. It will be dismantled immediately after the Floriade. It's for sale! Please ask one of the members of the board.