By Rev. John Arnold
First Presbyterian Church of Texarkana, Arkansas has been working to bring together the downtown Texarkana churches. Its hard work has come to fruition in the form of a Downtown Community Garden. The garden will serve the needs of the poor and homeless in their community.
First Presbyterian church's co-pastors, Revs. John and Susan Arnold, began entertaining the idea of a community garden almost immediately after their arrival in 2009. The pieces for a successful garden appeared to be available. The church owned a decent sized lot, had some avid gardeners, and the need for fresh produce to feed the needy was undeniable. However, there was a concern that the church could not realistically maintain a garden with it's limited number of volunteers. If they wanted the garden to succeed, they needed help.
At the same time the garden idea was forming, the Arnolds were working at redeveloping a once vibrant downtown ministerial association. They began by hosting a Community Good Friday service. Representatives from the Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, and Christian Church were all involved. A neighboring Methodist pastor, Rev. Bruce Bennett, delivered the sermon. Following the worship service, Rev. John Arnold, suggested the possibility that the churches might partner together to accomplish the garden project.
The group's enthusiastic response led to an open meeting held at First Presbyterian Church for anyone interested in starting a Downtown Community Garden. About twenty people came to that initial meeting from six different churches. During that meeting it was discovered that some of the other churches also had empty lots that might be likely spots for planting a garden.
A group of people volunteered to assess three possible locations. The group took soil samples, checked sun exposure and the availability of water for each site. A nearby Methodist church's property was determined to be the best location for the initial garden.
Rapidly the project gained momentum. Rev. Susan Arnold stated, ""From there, this thing sort of took on a life of it's own. all of the pieces -from the irrigation meter to the faucet and an inspection-were being donated by people who were volunteering their time and efforts, but they had to happen in a particular order. But as it happened, things were put in exactly when they needed to be."
The garden also quickly gained broad support and truly became a community project. Labor and materials were contributed by many people beyond the downtown Texarkana churches. For example, a high school donated seedlings from it's agricultural program and a local business donated seeds. A boy scout also volunteered to erect an information kiosk as his Eagle Scout project. Even the city got involved by donating 2000 gallons of water per month.
This past week the garden donated it's first produce back to the community via a local mission. About one quart of assorted peppers was given to the agency Harvest Texarkana. The garden will soon need harvesting every other day. It's crops include: onions, cucumbers, green beans, okra, lima beans, and three kinds of peppers.
The garden has also cultivated a growing sense of community among the churches. Mike Naples, a member of St. Edward's Catholic Church and volunteer since the beginning noted, "It was just like Father Paul's message, You've got to learn from each other - and to do that we've got to know each other." As these congregations get to know one another, the Arnold's are excited about the possibility of other future projects among the Texarkana Churches.
About the Author:
Learn how First Presbyterian Church is leading the way among Texarkana churches (http://www.firstprestexarkana.org) . Stop by the national PC(USA) news (http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/5/21/cultivating-community/) site and read more about the community garden project.
First Presbyterian Church of Texarkana, Arkansas has been working to bring together the downtown Texarkana churches. Its hard work has come to fruition in the form of a Downtown Community Garden. The garden will serve the needs of the poor and homeless in their community.
First Presbyterian church's co-pastors, Revs. John and Susan Arnold, began entertaining the idea of a community garden almost immediately after their arrival in 2009. The pieces for a successful garden appeared to be available. The church owned a decent sized lot, had some avid gardeners, and the need for fresh produce to feed the needy was undeniable. However, there was a concern that the church could not realistically maintain a garden with it's limited number of volunteers. If they wanted the garden to succeed, they needed help.
At the same time the garden idea was forming, the Arnolds were working at redeveloping a once vibrant downtown ministerial association. They began by hosting a Community Good Friday service. Representatives from the Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, and Christian Church were all involved. A neighboring Methodist pastor, Rev. Bruce Bennett, delivered the sermon. Following the worship service, Rev. John Arnold, suggested the possibility that the churches might partner together to accomplish the garden project.
The group's enthusiastic response led to an open meeting held at First Presbyterian Church for anyone interested in starting a Downtown Community Garden. About twenty people came to that initial meeting from six different churches. During that meeting it was discovered that some of the other churches also had empty lots that might be likely spots for planting a garden.
A group of people volunteered to assess three possible locations. The group took soil samples, checked sun exposure and the availability of water for each site. A nearby Methodist church's property was determined to be the best location for the initial garden.
Rapidly the project gained momentum. Rev. Susan Arnold stated, ""From there, this thing sort of took on a life of it's own. all of the pieces -from the irrigation meter to the faucet and an inspection-were being donated by people who were volunteering their time and efforts, but they had to happen in a particular order. But as it happened, things were put in exactly when they needed to be."
The garden also quickly gained broad support and truly became a community project. Labor and materials were contributed by many people beyond the downtown Texarkana churches. For example, a high school donated seedlings from it's agricultural program and a local business donated seeds. A boy scout also volunteered to erect an information kiosk as his Eagle Scout project. Even the city got involved by donating 2000 gallons of water per month.
This past week the garden donated it's first produce back to the community via a local mission. About one quart of assorted peppers was given to the agency Harvest Texarkana. The garden will soon need harvesting every other day. It's crops include: onions, cucumbers, green beans, okra, lima beans, and three kinds of peppers.
The garden has also cultivated a growing sense of community among the churches. Mike Naples, a member of St. Edward's Catholic Church and volunteer since the beginning noted, "It was just like Father Paul's message, You've got to learn from each other - and to do that we've got to know each other." As these congregations get to know one another, the Arnold's are excited about the possibility of other future projects among the Texarkana Churches.
About the Author:
Learn how First Presbyterian Church is leading the way among Texarkana churches (http://www.firstprestexarkana.org) . Stop by the national PC(USA) news (http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/5/21/cultivating-community/) site and read more about the community garden project.