Today we spoke to Rev. Susan Butler and church member Kathleen Russell of Grace Episcopal Church. They shared with us their church's ministry of their wonderful garden and the way they believe we are all connected to the Earth and to our neighbors.
Please share your thoughts about this experience. Did anything they say stand out in particular? Was this visit meaningful to you? If so, explain in 5-10 sentences what you gained from our time there.
I thought that The Grace Episcopal Church had a very interesting take on the environment. Not a lot of churches involve the environment with religion. Before this I had never made the connection in communion of what we take in to our bodies affects us both physically and spiritually. I completely agree that many people aren’t able to get the nutrition they need, and applaud the church for doing something about it. Starting a farmers market and getting the community involved must had been very difficult, but it was such a great idea. I loved how they are taking it one step further and providing cooking instructions on how to use the food. This way people without much cooking experience are able to still have good meals. Since my theme is the comparison between believing and knowing I was able to find many examples. One is that they believe God loves the earth, which is similar to the knowledge that we need the earth to live. To me that means that God has provided us, and then resources to sustain ourselves. He gave us these resources wholly, but with the obligation of being stewards to the earth. This concept of giving back to the community hits home for me because it is related to my personal cause of the 30 hour famine and how some people aren’t able to get the resources they need. I really enjoyed going to the church today, and definitely learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteI always thought churches mostly focused on subjects such as tutoring and donating food. This was the first time I saw a church where the garden played such a large role. I thought the garden and church were very pretty and the people must be happy to go there. I didn't quite understand how paving the sidewalk led to the development of a market and garden though. I did think the green roof was very practical and beautiful. I also thought it was good that women could have important positions in church. Hopefully, the general public will be more accepting of it in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe ladies at Grace Episcopal Church explained today that everyone has different gifts and talents which allow people to give in unique ways. In their particular situation they have a church community of people who are really talented at gardening and have the skills to make a successful garden community. They have taken their gifts and what Jesus has laid on their hearts in order to do something for the greater good. They are helping the community by connecting the people of their neighborhood community. However, the garden has been beneficial in ways their church couldn't even imagine. They are serving as a neighborhood outreach and are involving and exposing a new community of people to the Church and giving them directly and indirectly giving them knowledge about who God was and how he acted. Their church has been really opened up to the scriptures and the importance of taking care of oneself and the earth. They believe very strongly in the fact that God loves the whole earth and so they are doing their part to help. Different Church's have different issues on which they focus on and Grace Episcopal Church has certainly found one that works for them.
ReplyDeleteThe trip to Grace Episcopal Church was meaningful and I enjoyed it because since I am Episcopal, it was nice to see a different church that runs the same kind of Christianity. Before we visited, I thought that all churches focused on the importance of helping others in need through Youth Group Mission Trips, but apparently I was wrong. I think it is really nice and unique that the church has a goal to reach out to the people in the community who cannot afford to buy produce and that the church is growing it for a low price to sell to them. With the church taking action and trying to help make the Earth a better place while trying to help people in the community, it can make a difference to everyone in Chattanooga area. The garden can also help the church’s community itself because the people in charge of tending to it probably feel good about being involved with the church while also helping others. I feel that the church does not feel ashamed about trying new things that other church’s hasn’t and it sets them apart from the others in town.
ReplyDeleteThe visit to Grace Episcopal Church was displayed the significance of many things, mainly their new eco-friendly set-up. It was nice to see that a church had found its "cause" as stated by Jency Shirai yesterday, and one that is significantly uncommon among churches. Grace Episcopal is developing a program in which they supply nutritious, organic produce to those who need it as well as educate the local community on how to do some "farm work", i.e. milk a goat or even just feed their body properly. The garden program has changed the church in a way that is able to support the surrounding community, nutritionally and even socially, at their weekly farmers' market. It is uncommon for many churches to focus on the environment as their "issue", if they have a focused "issue" at all, because there is so much political mayhem mixed up in the environment-related news, and churches usually try to steer clear of politics. It is great that a church can help a society prosper, and that they are not afraid of what could happen. All churches should, in my opinion, find a nitch that they can really focus in on, and Grace Episcopal has surely done that, and may even lead the way for some others in the future.
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