By Chairperson, Karlah Y. Burton, CNMT, BS, BA, North Carolina Earthkeeper
So far in 2021 the Community Garden at Saint Matthews UMC in Greensboro, NC, has donated over 200 pounds of produce and flowers to Share the Harvest, Guilford County NC, Greensboro Urban Ministry, and church members! To feed the hungry is one of the ways we can impact and benefit our community. Saint Matthews UMC (SMUMC) is part of the Northern Piedmont District of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference. Our Creation Care Ministry (CCM) is into its second year with the Community Garden, having been my Earthkeepers project undertaken in 2020.
Through the effort of our youthful ministry this year SMUMC has also joined the Partners in Health and Wholeness (PHW) Collaborative, which is part of the North Carolina Council of Churches. The initiative is designed to bridge issues of faith, health, and justice. It seeks to provide people with the tools necessary to lead healthy, more abundant lives. The push is toward supporting these focus areas: freedom from nicotine, healthy eating, increased physical activity, mental health advocacy and education, healthy aging, and harm reduction. Supported by the Duke Endowment and Open Society Foundations, the goal of PHW is to improve the health and well-being of people of faith and impact the larger community, ultimately empowering faith communities to effect change.
Our church has also been awarded a $1000 mini grant through the 2021 Partners in Health and Wholeness Mini Grant Program. Churches and faith communities that participate undertake amazing work! And, with the grant, our church is holding an October festival with the theme of healthy eating Saturday, October 16th and Saturday, October 23rd. By placing emphasis on communities of color, we will offer healthy food preparation demonstrations, featuring produce from our very own garden! Members of SMUMC, who are also medical professionals, and others will speak on the topics related to the high incidence of elevated blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and disease within the Greensboro community.
Special focus will be older adults. For instance, critical thinking involved in deciding what to plant and how to prepare and maintain a garden can help decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s. Gardening itself is a moderately intense exercise that can lessen the occurrence of heart attack and stroke. Vitamin D taken in when gardening in sunlight can reduce the risk of heart disease.
The October festival is a new and fun approach to addressing serious concerns while inspiring lifestyle changes focused on health and wholeness. With the goal of 50 harvested pumpkins from our garden, we plan a “pumpkin patch.” We will be providing an opportunity to receive free COVID 19 vaccinations onsite during the festival, as well. Together with these activities, our Creation Care Ministry has invited High Class Solar and other related parties to host tables at the event in support of creation care. Finally, we hope to offer polystyrene collection for recycling and electric car demonstrations in the coordinated effort to love the environment! These are the actions that the Lord requires of Christians (Matthew 25:42-43).
In accord with the church’s calling, the mission of the Creation Care Ministry and Community Garden at Saint Matthews UMC is to nurture members and members of the local community by providing no cost, fresh vegetables and flowers as we strive to teach better nutrition and the importance of caring for God’s creation. Our work is based in inclusiveness, fairness, and a loving response to addressing the food desert in Guilford County. We do so with respect for creation by using organic gardening methods and without regard to race, gender, culture, creed, lifestyles, or personal choices. Ultimately, we seek to increase church membership as we witness to the glory of God, commit to network building, and service as part of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.
Happy fall from the Creation Care Ministry and Community Garden at Saint Matthews UMC!