• They want to help parishioners and neighbors understand that they could take some responsibility for food production and for wise use of urban land.
  
  

• They wanted to bridge the gap between parishioners, many of whom commute to the church from the suburbs, and the neighbors, mostly African-American and Southeast Asian families who are not Catholics.
  
  

• Finally, they hoped to involve the neighborhood children, who were accustomed to playing ball on the parish grounds, but had no familiarity with gardening.
  
  

The pastor, Father George Wertin, who had once preached in a homily, “Everyone should grow something, even if it’s just a little flower pot,” became an enthusiastic supporter of “The Left Field,” as the parish garden is called.

Work began in the spring of 2001 with “The Big Dig.” Twenty-four people showed up on a Saturday in April to turn over the soil. Dan Chouinard, one of the organizers of the garden, says, “We introduced ourselves, said a prayer, and dug in.” Two weeks later, the group planted the 20x30 garden and, throughout the summer, a core of ten people came twice a week, on Wednesday evenings and on Sundays, to till, weed, and care for the plants. Dan adds, “Each time we gathered, we would spread a blanket on the ground and have something to eat. The neighborhood kids started coming to see what we were doing.“ On Sundays, they served coffee in the garden and invited people to stop by and visit after Mass.

The team raised an impressive variety of vegetables, including several kinds of lettuce, beans, and tomatoes, plus spinach, broccoli, cabbage, pumpkins, turnips, cucumbers, onions, and herbs. They also planted a large zinnia patch and, during the summer, they frequently gave away the flowers as a way of saying, “Welcome to our garden.”

The highlight of the gardeners’ season was, of course, a bountiful harvest. As crops ripened, they sometimes gave produce away in the neighborhood. On the last Saturday in September, the parish sponsored a Farmer’s Market, where the Eco-Spirituality Ministry team sold produce from “The Left Field” as well as vegetables parishioners had grown in their own home gardens. The event raised $1250 for Second Harvest, the country’s second-largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about Second Harvest, go to http://www.secondharvest.org.

Rick Klehr, who along with Dan Chouinard organized “The Left Field,” says, “We wanted to encourage people to become closer to the earth.” Judging from the success of their first Farmer’s Market, the Eco-Spirituality Ministry team at St. Joan of Arc has indeed succeeded in spreading their message. Click here for six steps to creating your own parish garden.

It seemed such an unlikely idea—a vegetable garden on the grounds of an inner city parish. But the Eco-Spirituality Ministry team at St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis, MN, was undeterred. They had several goals:

• They want to help parishioners and neighbors understand that they could take some responsibility for food production and for wise use of urban land.

• They wanted to bridge the gap between parishioners, many of whom commute to the church from the suburbs, and the neighbors, mostly African-American and Southeast Asian families who are not Catholics.

• Finally, they hoped to involve the neighborhood children, who were accustomed to playing ball on the parish grounds, but had no familiarity with gardening.

The pastor, Father George Wertin, who had once preached in a homily, “Everyone should grow something, even if it’s just a little flower pot,” became an enthusiastic supporter of “The Left Field,” as the parish garden is called.

Work began in the spring of 2001 with “The Big Dig.” Twenty-four people showed up on a Saturday in April to turn over the soil. Dan Chouinard, one of the organizers of the garden, says, “We introduced ourselves, said a prayer, and dug in.” Two weeks later, the group planted the 20x30 garden and, throughout the summer, a core of ten people came twice a week, on Wednesday evenings and on Sundays, to till, weed, and care for the plants. Dan adds, “Each time we gathered, we would spread a blanket on the ground and have something to eat. The neighborhood kids started coming to see what we were doing.“ On Sundays, they served coffee in the garden and invited people to stop by and visit after Mass.

The team raised an impressive variety of vegetables, including several kinds of lettuce, beans, and tomatoes, plus spinach, broccoli, cabbage, pumpkins, turnips, cucumbers, onions, and herbs. They also planted a large zinnia patch and, during the summer, they frequently gave away the flowers as a way of saying, “Welcome to our garden.”

The highlight of the gardeners’ season was, of course, a bountiful harvest. As crops ripened, they sometimes gave produce away in the neighborhood. On the last Saturday in September, the parish sponsored a Farmer’s Market, where the Eco-Spirituality Ministry team sold produce from “The Left Field” as well as vegetables parishioners had grown in their own home gardens. The event raised $1250 for Second Harvest, the country’s second-largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about Second Harvest, go to http://www.secondharvest.org.

Rick Klehr, who along with Dan Chouinard organized “The Left Field,” says, “We wanted to encourage people to become closer to the earth.” Judging from the success of their first Farmer’s Market, the Eco-Spirituality Ministry team at St. Joan of Arc has indeed succeeded in spreading their message. Click here for six steps to creating your own parish garden.

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