When I began as the Pastor of Missions here at FFUMC in July of 2022, I gained, along with many other blessings, the privilege of being the staff person responsible for helping support and guide the leadership team of the Giving Garden. I know essentially nothing about plants, soil, and gardening (see the 3 fake plants in my home…). So I began a crash course in learning about things like cover crops, the plague of blight, the gift of pollinators, and so much more. I also learned that the mission of the Giving Garden is “to share the bounty of God’s gifts by feeding our neighbors and those in need.”

My tenure of working with the Garden came at a time of great leadership change and with that a lot of fear and worry. So we came to our August meeting with a few questions like, “How have you experienced God in the Garden?” and “What does it mean to feed the hungry?” I wish you could have been a fly on the wall. I expected answers about providing produce to those who are food insecure, which is entirely true and accurate. But the answers were even more deeply connected to our vision to Seek First the Kingdom of God. To feed the hungry is to provide meaningful connection, to feed our souls with relationships, to offer spiritual fulfilment, to connect with people you may not normally meet, to offer ‘daily bread’ to feed more than our stomachs, and to offer acceptance and grace to all we meet. THAT is what God is doing through the Giving Garden. Do we feed a lot of stomachs with fresh produce? Yes. But does the Giving Garden also provide space for connection, meaningful work, grace, love, belonging and so much more. THAT is why I hope you will come join us in the Garden, to experience the presence of the Divine on just a few acres of our lovely campus. Stay tuned this month for more about the Giving Garden.

Sign up HERE if you want to get started serving now!

-Pastor Carlisle

P.S. We’re having a Giving Garden Kickoff on Saturday, April 22 from 9 am to noon. We’ll have some breakfast yummies, some tours of the garden, a blessing from Pastor Carlisle, and time to dig in the dirt!