Churches show love for neighbors, planet by planting vegetables
In the middle of the large, green yard behind Ascension Episcopal Church is a rectangular patch of loamy black.
Spots like that, which will soon sprout green vegetables and herbs, are appearing all around Springfield -- in church yards, backyards, even on public land.
For many of the gardeners, the effort is part of an expression of their spirituality, faith in God and love of their neighbor and the planet.
"To me, it's the heart of the Gospel," says the Rev. Larry Lewis, pastor of Ascension. "And it's an ecological ethic."
Alexander Kofi Washington, a reggae musician, and his artist wife, Moonshadow, are among those working in the church's garden. They recently moved here from Michigan, drawn by the area's active interest in the environment, especially the Well Fed Neighbor Alliance, which meets at the church.
"I've never seen anything like this," Washington says of the community gardens. "People of all backgrounds, spiritually and economically, working together. It's beautiful."
Interest Grows
Master Gardener and member of the Well Fed Neighbor Alliance Shelley Vaugine has been working with churches, community associations, schools, even Boys & Girls Town, to help gardens sprout all around town.
She has seen interest in community gardening grow as the economy worsens. Gardening classes that in previous years drew 20 to 30 people have been filled with 80 to 90 this year, she says.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090321/LIFE07/903210314
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