Q:How do I join the garden?
A: Joining the garden is simple.
-Simply stop by the garden to grow with us during a work night/day listed below and fill out an application.
Q:What are the membership options?
A:$25.00 per family for a full year (3 growing seasons!).
Each membership covers the cost of one whole family; you do not have to pay the fee for each individual
Q:Do I need to bring anything?
A: Nope. We provide everything you'll need. Maybe just bring a bottle of water..and a desire to grow good food and friendships!
Q:How do we share what we harvest?
A: On the day that you work, we harvest whatever is available. Some days we don't have a harvest, while others we have an abundance. but whatever there is, people take what they need. A large share of the harvest is also donated to our local food pantry, S.A.F.E.(Southern Alamance Family Empowerment).
On days that we harvest an entire crop at once, such as garlic, then we send out an email to let people know ahead of time that we will be harvesting, and that if they can't get there that day, they can let us know an we can save some out for them. No one will miss out!
Q: Are synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used?
A: Absolutely not! We use feather meal as our nitrogen source along with our own compost and cover cropping (green manure) practices. No animal manures are used. Our main form of pest control is by picking bugs off plants, as well as planting beneficial plants that attract good bugs, which then eat the bad bugs. As a last recourse we also use organic pesticides such as neem oil or BT spray, and home-made sprays such as garlic pepper sprays and soap sprays. We also try to prevent diseases and bugs by companion planting, planting vegetables that grow well with other vegetables that help prevent bugs and diseases.
Q: When do we work?
A: We have set work days Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30 and Thursday nights from 5:30pm-7:30pm, and Saturday mornings from 9am-noon. Fall Hours: Tues/Thurs 4:30-dark (thru October) and Saturdays 10-noon (thru mid-December).
Q: What if I miss working a week?
A: We strongly encourage weekly participation, but we don't have clock to track your hours. If you miss a week, that's fine, just try to make up for it next week by putting in a little extra time. We have several members that live a distance away so they simply come every other week for a couple of hours.
Q: How do we know what to do?
A: The work day's activities are planned in advance by the garden coordinator and assigned accordingly with detailed instructions of how to complete each task. An email is sent out in the beginning of the week summarizing the proposed week's activities and harvests.
Q: [Donna] Do you have a degree in Horticulture?
A: In the beginning, I didn't..but I do now. After 3 years of growing in our community garden, I decided to go to school to get a degree in Sustainable Agriculture. And I am continually growing in knowledge as we all are. I have found that the more I learn, the more I realize that I don't know! And that's what is so great about this, we're all learning together! I'm really excited about what we're doing as a community and gardening together. I love getting asked questions that I don't know the answers to, which is very often, so I do whatever I can to find the answers and continue to work in the garden with everybody.
Q: What do you grow in the garden?
A: We grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers. We try to grow a little of everything.
Q: Do you offer any workshops or classes?
A: We do! In the past,we have had cooking classes, programs on nutrition, and a canning workshop. New classes or events will be posted on our blog!
Q: What local ministries do you donate to?
A: We are thankful to God that we are able to donate a large portion of our harvests to a local food pantry just five minutes from the garden!. Southern Alamance Family Empowerment (S.A.F.E.) is open for "family members" on Tuesdays and Saturdays in which we are providing weekly fresh produce out of God's abundance blessings grown in the garden. We also donate to anyone in need who contacts the church or the garden directly, or if a garden members has friends or neighbors who have expressed a need, we gladly share our harvest. We encourage garden members to share produce from their own gardens as well as any other food donations to S.A.F.E.
Q: What is the Mission of the garden?
A: The Garden of Concord, an extension ministry of Concord United Methodist Church is dedicated to feeding the hungry in our community through sharing our harvests. We celebrate the connection of church and community as we work, learn, and care for God's Creation together while experiencing Christian fellowship, love, joy, and unity.
Q: What is an extension ministry?
A: "Ministry" is from the Greek word diakonia, meaning "to serve.” In the New Testament, ministry is seen as service to God and to other people in His name. Jesus provided the pattern for Christian ministry—He came, not to receive service, but to give it (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; John 13:1-17). An extension ministry is a group of people participating in the type of service described above, but the work of the ministry is not being done in the traditional church building. An extension ministry may or may not have designated pastoral leadership (our garden does not) but the work has a Christian mission and is performed in a way that is in keeping with the Christian ideals, doctrine and beliefs of the church under which it operates.
The Garden of Concord is overseen by Garden Director, Donna Poe and the Garden Advisory Board (GAB). The GAB reports to the Administrative Council of Concord UMC.
Q: What is required of members to the garden as an extension ministry? Are Garden members required to be church members?
A: No. Members of the garden are not required to be members of our church; anyone from the community or any other church is welcome in our garden. Members of our garden are asked to be mindful that their personal behavior and all social interaction with other garden and church members conforms to Christian ideals of love, mutual respect and non-judgment of one another and the church.
The United Methodist Church respects the sacred worth of all persons. We fully realize that persons of faith have differing views on many issues and we do not attempt to control, monitor or censor the private personal views of our members on any issue. Concord United Methodist Church and all of its ministries share the following Social Media Policy:
Concord UMC Social Media Policy:
As a member and/or representative of Concord UMC or any of its ministries, please use sound judgment and remember who and whose you
are, including when it comes to the use of social media. When posting any
information concerning Concord UMC or acting in a capacity as a representative
of a ministry of Concord UMC, your posting may be seen by our members and
outside parties as representing the views of our church. Although you may
view your online presence as a personal project, a posting you make that
mentions or refers to our church or its ministries may lead many readers to
associate you and the views you express with Concord UMC. In light of
that we ask that you observe the following guidelines:
·
Do not connect any form of church
communication with political messages or symbols.
·
Association, representation or endorsement of,
or by, any political candidate, party, issue or campaign, whether actual,
inferred or implied is prohibited in any communication related to our
church.
·
When acting as a representative of Concord UMC
or sharing information about any of the ministries or activities of our church,
do not engage in any online conversations or discussions that may create
division or discord. If you are in any doubt, the best action is NOT to
post.
·
If it is brought to your attention that a
social media posting or discussion related to our church is found to be
divisive or offensive, please remove it immediately.
We
thank you and welcome you and offer you our love in Christ as you participate
in the Garden of Concord! We value your service to this ministry and pray you
find great peace, joy, wonderful fellowship and appreciation for God’s creation
through this ministry to our community!!
