Interim On-Line
September, 12, 2006
Church garden grows self-reliance as well as vegetables
SULLIVAN – An ecumenical effort spearheaded by St. John & St. James Episcopal Church in Sullivan and funded through the Diocese of Missouri’s Making All Things New capital campaign is growing a sense of achievement and self-reliance among low-income families as well as putting fresh vegetables on their dinner tables.
Blessed with a large piece of property, the members of St. John & St. James struck upon a way for the small and mostly elderly congregation to reach out to their community by offering the land behind the church for a community garden.
“We looked at it as a way to beautify our grounds, but it goes beyond beautification and is a real ministry,” says the Rev. Dr. Carol Wesley, the priest-in-charge at St. John & St. James.
The congregation received a $7,000 community ministry grant from the Diocese to be used to purchase materials for raised garden beds, gardening tools, and garden supplies and to pay for a part-time coordinator. It then talked with one of its neighbors, Grace United Methodist, to help provide labor in preparing the ground and erecting the raised beds.
By the time the coordinator was hired and the materials delivered it was well into the growing season, so the first crops in the new community garden are those normally harvested in the fall, such as squash. The gardening is being done by six families selected by the Meramec Community Mission in Sullivan, an agency that serves the poor. They are being assisted by an expert gardener from Peace Lutheran Church in Sullivan.
“The primary goal of the ministry is to feed the hungry, but it is also hoped that the program will enhance the gardeners’ sense of achievement and self-reliance,” says Paulette Ely, director of Meramec Community Mission. The mission has received funding in the past from the Diocese’s Task Force for the Hungry.
“As the old adage suggests, we are teaching people ‘to fish’ rather than giving them fish. For some people who have had little or no success in life, the achievement of growing a tomato can transfer to success in areas outside of gardening and greatly improve their lives,” adds Ely.
Six more beds will be added to the garden by next spring, says Viola Bryant, the bishop’s warden at St. John & St. James.
“Much remains to be done, but we are most pleased with the accomplishments,” says Bryant. “The garden has generated a lot of interest. We have high hopes for next year and especially hope other groups will follow our lead and be inspired to have their own gardens.”
Wesley says other churches in Sullivan have expressed an interest in the project and, she notes, “A lot of churches around here have empty lots.”
For more information on the community garden in Sullivan, call St. John & St. James at (573) 468-3753 or the Meramec Community Mission at (573) 468-5813. Additional information on community gardening is available from the American Community Gardening Association on its Web site at www.communitygarden.org.
