|
|
Here is a good place to describe a list of your hobbies,
projects or interests.
-
Work
From February thru November we work in
the garden every Saturday from 9-12noon. Sometime around
March we add a workday during the week, and in May add a
second workday for the rest of the summer. When people show
up for work they jump in and help with whatever task needs
doing that day. Afterward they take home their weekly share
of produce.
In addition to our garden members, we
host a number of teens each week that come from Volunteers
for Youth, whose mission is “to positively integrate young
people into the community and help them recognize that they
are valuable and important.” The kids that work with us
receive community service hours, as well as informal
gardening lessons. What they give us is their youthful
energy, their strong backs, and their help with the ongoing
work of growing healthy vegetables for people in Cedar
Grove.
We also host various groups for
workdays throughout the year, including college and
university classes, summer campers from Camp Chestnut Ridge,
and Duke Divinity School’s Project Briddge group.
-
Teach
1. Classes—Several times a year we
teach a class called “Just Eating—Practicing Our Faith at
the Table.” This curriculum uses the Lord’s Supper as a lens
to understand the relationship between food and the
Christian faith.
In 2007 we will begin teaching basic
gardening classes as well.
2. Interns—Each academic school year
and summer term we receive a student intern from Duke
Divinity School. The internship’s purpose is to teach
aspiring pastors how a community garden is a way the church
can serve the local community. The intern works with the
garden manager, learning gardening and farming skills as
well as learning Christian practices of hospitality and land
stewardship. We also will be hosting a garden apprentice in
Summer 2007. This will be a young person from the
surrounding community who will work 20 hrs./week in exchange
for room and board.
- Eat—After nearly every Saturday workday we share
a pot-luck lunch. During the summer when days are long, we
conclude one of our mid-week workdays with a pot-luck
supper. People often cook with ingredients they’ve harvested
from the garden. Sometimes we’ll just pick something on the
spot—a cantaloupe, tomatoes with basil, carrots—and come up
with an ad hoc meal. These meals have become some of the
most meaningful moments at the garden.
- Worship—In May 2006 we held a worship service to
dedicate the land to God. At various times throughout 2007
we will have impromptu worship services, as well as a
celebration of the Lord’s Supper before some of our Saturday
workdays.
- Celebrate—throughout the year we throw parties to
celebrate God’s gift of abundance. In Fall 2006 we held the
first Fall Music Fest at the garden, which included local
singer-songwriters, American music, and a black Baptist
children’s choir. And of course, food.
|
|
