Becoming Conversational #10 – Start a Community Garden.

Becoming Conversational #10 – Start a Community Garden. February 10, 2012

The Virtue of Dialogue - C. Christopher SmithMy ebook The Virtue of Dialogue: Conversation as a Hopeful Practice of Church Communities was recently released by Patheos Press, and in it, I argue that open conversation is essential for the health and flourishing of church communities and the places they inhabit.

Today is the final post in the series that I am calling “Becoming Conversational” in which I offer suggestions for how churches might enrich the conversational life of their church communities. (Some of these ideas have been adapted from my earlier ebook, Growing Deeper in Our Church Communities, which is available for free download here.

In the spirit of conversation, I encourage readers to utilize the comments section below to ask questions, share relevant stories from their own experience, etc.

#10) Start a Community Garden.

Continuing on the theme of food and eating that we started yesterday, food is an essential part of life for all humanity, so there is good work to be done in growing good food wherever you are located.  A community garden for your church community and/or neighborhood is a good way to start thinking about and working on food issues.

Gather church members and neighbors to brainstorm how you might start a community garden. Winter is an ideal time to start planning. Our church’s experience running a community garden has taught us that it is best to start small and to make sure a coordinator is assigned who is responsible for planning and organizing the work that will need to be done – planting, weeding, tending and harvesting. As one can imagine, there are many essential conversations involved: what will the purpose of the garden be?; how will the food that is grown be used?  who will do the necessary work to keep it up and flourishing?

Previous Post: #9 Regularly Share a Meal Together.

 


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