Growing a community…
M
any of us didn’t know a beet top from a carrot top but we were eager to learn. This is how in 2007 we approached our first summer as “saint benedict’s gardeners.” This was the title twenty-so of us from saint benedict’s table adopted as we embarked on a partnership with the Sisters of St Benedict’s Monastery.
As a community which carries the name of Benedict we strive to be a place of radical hospitality. This begins at the Eucharistic table, extends to a refreshment table at the back of the sanctuary where we gather after worship, and then outside of the church building to tables in homes and restaurants where we gather as small groups for shared meals, conversations and study.
As we are nourished in the meal offered at communion each week we remind ourselves, by the ingathering of fruits vegetables for Agape Table, about the hunger of those not present at Christ’s table.
Aware of the commitment of the Sisters of St. Benedict to tithe the harvest of their vegetable garden, our community offered to help tend the garden over the summer and transport the produce to All Saint’s each Sunday, where it was offered with the rest of the produce at communion and then given to Agape to help feed the two hundred and fifty people they serve each weekday.
Well, it worked, and sufficiently well that we decided to take part in another round of gardening in 2008, and now in 2010 we are still at it. This year has been a tough one, with heavy rain making it almost impossible to get our volunteers into the garden before the middle of July. But we’ve discovered that even in years of challenging weather, it is amazing to see how much fresh produce can come into the church week after week after week.
Week by week we’ll be sending teams out to the monastery to – quite literally – get our hands dirty in the work of planting, weeding, nurturing and harvesting what the Creator’s earth brings forth. Some teams are going out on Saturdays, and some on Tuesday evenings.
There will be plenty of room to join us, so if this catches your imagination and you think you’d like to jump on board, send us a note through the contact form, and we’ll line you up.