It all started with a field of grass.
For eight months out of every year, the field of grass was mowed. Occasionally, the field was used to throw a frisbee or play a game of kickball or even to take city kids on a hayride.
The neighbors worried that the field, located on a busy road in a growing city, would be sold and turned into a gas station or an apartment complex.
Then came a pastor with a dream. Some would say it was a crazy dream, but the pastor insisted it was God’s dream. Because only God could dream of something as crazy as turning the front yard of a church into a half-acre sustainable urban farm.
That field of grass is now the Urban Farm Church, a spiritual community where people come to center the heart, mind, body, and spirit – and serve their neighbors.
“Instead of asking our neighbors to come inside the walls of the church to sit in pews and sing songs, we offered them a chance to connect with God through nature,” says Rev. Ryan Grace, Pastor & Executive Director of the Urban Farm Church. “For them, weeding is worship, and the farm is their sanctuary. There is something so sacred about working with the land to produce food, especially since we give the food back to feed our community.”
Launched as a new church start in 2023, the Urban Farm Church is not a typical community garden. Where community gardens usually offer space to individual growers, the Urban Farm Church grows food as a community, for the community, making time to slow down and listen to the Spirit while working the land. Volunteers are welcome to take produce home with them, and the rest is given away either onsite or through a local pantry.
In the summer of 2024, the Urban Farm Church grew more than 7,500 pounds of fresh produce, giving away 6,000+ pounds onsite through their unique Farm Share Program. A mix between a traditional CSA (Community Supported Agriculture – where you buy a weekly share of produce for a set upfront fee) and a free produce stand, the Farm Share Program offers the same amount of produce to everyone – whether they can donate $0 or $100.
“This gives our neighbors – and even folks from across town – a way to support the Urban Farm Church while recognizing that not everyone is able to give,” remarks Mariellyn Grace, who helps coordinate the Farm Share Program. “We make sure folks know they will receive the same amount of fresh food whether they can make a donation or not.”
“One of my favorite things about the farm is how intergenerational it is,” Pastor Ryan says. “On volunteer days, we have young and old and in between out there pitching compost and mulch, planting and then digging up potatoes, watering plants and running through the sprinklers. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s kingdom here on earth.”
In addition to the farm itself, the Urban Farm Church has made other environmentally friendly changes to the grounds of its partner church, Maize Manor UMC. Besides a community Blessing Box and a Little Free Library, they also constructed a half-mile Storybook Trail that winds its way around the 4.5 acre property, taking families past 22 different species of trees, a pollinator garden, native wetlands, and a wildflower prairie. These changes encourage neighbors to make use of the property, enjoying all the benefits of spending time outdoors in the middle of the city.
“The farm really belongs to the whole community, not just to the church,” says neighbor Christie Gianni. “This place – the farm and all the things it brings to our community – that’s what gives me hope.”
Learn more about the Urban Farm Church by visiting their website, www.urbanfarmchurch.org, or by emailing urbanfarmchurch@gmail.com.
Article by Mariellyn Grace, Director of Mission Engagement for the Ohio Episcopal Area
