Mennonite Weekly Review

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Pastor Sarah Scherschligt walks behind her Prince of Peace Lutheran Church to the spot where she feels closer to God.

Surrounded by a chicken-wire fence and marked by a sign that reads “Fruitful Fields,” is her church’s new vegetable garden. Growing there are tomatoes ready to be picked for the local food kitchen, basil that a member may use in some home cooking, green beans that can be eaten right off the stalk.

Scherschligt’s church is part of a, well, growing trend among houses of worship. Instead of merely changing light bulbs and installing thermostat controls for greater energy efficiency, congregations are now “going green” the old-fashioned way — by planting gardens in their backyards.

Some are driven by the economy. Others are following the example of first lady Michelle Obama, who planted a vegetable garden at the White House this spring to emphasize healthy diets. Still others consider it a hands-on way of living a simpler life — and connecting with God.

“Some kid in our congregation planted this seed in a little Dixie cup six months ago and then they come out and they see this is how things grow and this is how God works through nature,” said Scherschligt, associate pastor of the church.

Statistics on church gardens are hard to come by, but experts on religion and the environment say they are hearing more about congregations that have decided to make planting and produce a part of their ministry.

Nancy Sleeth, program director of Blessed Earth, a faith-based environmental nonprofit based in Wilmore, Ky., said she didn’t know of any church vegetable gardens five years ago. Now, everywhere she goes, she hears about congregations growing green thumbs.

Sleeth said a number of factors could be driving the interest, including churches’ increased concern about climate change, the savings gained by growing food rather than buying it at the store, and the opportunity to get kids away from the TV screen.

“Once people read their Bible, then they realize that this is something that we as Christians should be leaders on,” said Sleeth, author of Go Green, $ave Green, which cites examples of church gardens. “What more visible way to do that than to physically put a garden on your church property?”

Angela Smith, director of the Baltimore Food and Faith Project, said she’s seen an increasing interest in her workshops called “Growing Food, Growing Faith: Creating a Vegetable Garden with Your Faith Community.”

Crews at Good Works, an interdenominational Christian ministry that works with the poor in rural Appalachia, have developed eight gardens at the homes of widows and people with disabilities in southeast Ohio.

“You can do a community garden in an urban area because people can walk to them, but in rural areas, transportation is a big issue,” said ministry founder Keith Wasserman.