I am in a class called Theology of the Land: Reading the OT through Agrarian Eyes. In it we explore the theological signficance of land and food in the Old Testament (turns out it is quite signficant!) Last Wednesday we had the manager of Anathoth Garden speak to us about how they got started and why. You can view their website and story here: Anathoth Garden
They have a wonderful thing going on there for several reasons:
1- They are being good stewards of God’s creation
2- They are teaching others how to do the same
3- The food produced there is organic
4- All food produced there is consumed within a 10 mile radius from where it is grown (the average plate of food in the US travels 1500 miles from where it is made to your mouth – imagine all the energy and fuel used for just one plate of food!)
5- They are builiding community
I was so impressed with this concept and feel led to begin one here in Bullock. As if to confirm this prompting I felt, on Saturday (keep in mind I first heard of this garden on Wed) I met with an organic food producer up the road from me to interview him for a paper I have to write (one that I should be writing NOW as it is due tomorrow!) When I arrived at his farm the first thing Bailey asked me was if I ever heard of Cedar Grove UMC (this is the church the garden is at). Dumbfounded, I told him I had, and asked why? He said that a man at the Farmer’s Market that morning in Wake Forest told him he ought to look into a garden Cedar Grove is doing. Bailey, knowing I am Methodist, thought I might know something about it. Anyways, by the time I got done visiting with Bailey he had all but said he would be willing to donate a few acres of his land for a similar endeavor here in Bullock!
This Saturday we are heading to Anathoth Garden to check it out. Every last Saturday of the month they have a training session where they teach people how to duplicate what they are doing. I’ll have more to say after that, I’m sure.
Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Since I can kill plastic plants I have a lot to learn…
Filed under: Community | Tagged: Community, Ecology, Gardening, religion
