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Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:14 pm
by Bonfire
There is plenty of space. A toolshed or a greenhouse would be splendid.

Re:

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:55 pm
by Bonfire
D&C 4:4 "For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul"

What does thrusting a sickle mean to you?

Re:

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 6:17 pm
by Bonfire
What good crops would be planted in the Lord's field?

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:29 pm
by Red Ryder
I think metaphorically speaking a community garden would be something worthy of implementing. In reality, not everyone has a green thumb and therefore the success of the garden would depend on the perfect mix of volunteers. Then there is the issue of resources provided. I don’t see the church providing any support for water, soil, fertilizer etc. unless you source the dirty diapers from the mothers lounge as a fertilizer of sorts. Then there is the practical nature of the harvest. Who gets the best fruits and vegetables? The needy? The poor? The EQP? The people that planted and put in the time?

A sickle is a promise to the garden. To work, to weed, to maintain, to fertilize, and pray to see growth.

I’d rather see a community garden where thoughts and ideas are planted and the harvest is a people with less judgment, more love, and less layers.

Now that’s a community garden I can get behind!

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:02 am
by Bonfire
Red Ryder wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:29 pm
not everyone has a green thumb...Then there is the practical nature of the harvest. Who gets the best fruits and vegetables?
A green thumb demonstrates a closeness to God: Not being able to keep land fertile demonstrates a failure to maintain one's own health. The harvest is not nearly as important as the work that goes into worshipping God by showing gratitude in plant, insect, bacteria, or fungal care

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:13 am
by dogbite
No. Many are apartments, corporate spaces and the like in the middle floors of buildings in big cities. No garden space.

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:57 am
by alas
The church support something for the benefit of the members?

Wahahahahahaha wahahaha!

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 8:15 am
by Bonfire
dogbite wrote:
Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:13 am
No. Many are apartments, corporate spaces and the like in the middle floors of buildings in big cities. No garden space.
Obviously big cities gather people that cannot grow. There are other problems to address due to the members increased spiritual distance.

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 12:42 pm
by Angel
I'm adviser of community garden at our school. Just finished planting a few more things with little group of students and staff. Yes -we plant in the winter here :).

Tips:

Weed barrier. Use it.
Adopt a plot - set up small assignments.
Weddings, funerals, wars - walk & garden events are nice.
Excercise - sunrise soil - meets before dawn, cool off.

Plants - save seeds from kitchen. Grow from the food you get at grocery store.

Compost - plants love coffee grounds haha- woops!

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 2:24 pm
by Hagoth
Bonfire wrote:
Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:02 am
Red Ryder wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2023 11:29 pm
not everyone has a green thumb...Then there is the practical nature of the harvest. Who gets the best fruits and vegetables?
A green thumb demonstrates a closeness to God: Not being able to keep land fertile demonstrates a failure to maintain one's own health. The harvest is not nearly as important as the work that goes into worshipping God by showing gratitude in plant, insect, bacteria, or fungal care
New flash: there are plenty of athiest and agnostics out there who have massive green thumbs. Also Muslims, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, and all kinds of "non-covenant" people who are not close to God by Mormon standards.

But I think replacing the lawns of churches with community gardens is a GREAT idea, especially if the entire community is actually welcome to use it, including people with tattoos, non-word of wisdom observers, and gay & transgender people.

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 9:50 pm
by moksha
We have a Stake farm just down the street.

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2023 4:03 pm
by Dirty Bird
Bonfire wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:14 pm
There is plenty of space. A toolshed or a greenhouse would be splendid.
Are you referring about a real community garden that would benefit everyone or a community garden for the local Mormon community? In my opinion, it's a fantastic idea in any case, but there's no way the church will allow several individuals to garden on their land. The brethern are utterly terrified of being sued.

Depending on where you live, the community garden would need a gate that is locked at night and a fence that is about six feet tall. The water bill comes next. There is no way the church will pay for an additional forty thousand gallons of water a month during the growing season. Yet! It's a terrific concept because, aside from the Mormon church and the JWs, every church in my area appears to do something special at least once a month. The church down the street from me is predominantly black, with a small minority of white attendees. It's massive! Added to at least six or so times to allow development, and they hold a lot of events every month, some of which take place inside and most of which take place in the parking lot. In addition to concerts, they permit those with a license to put up a farmer's market in the parking lot and host bake sales and pig pickins. Even Seventh Day Adventists occasionally extend invitations to the community to attend activities they are hosting. I attended a fish supper that they held up in the field next their church years ago. However, the Mormon church almost never host a community function. The women of the church used to cook all the time in the kitchen when I was younger. When I was a child, I used to love to open the church door and smell the aroma of baked cinnamon buns, bacon, hamburgers, and occasionally, full Christmas dinners complete with turkeys, hams, and all the fixins. Every table under the stage would be set up, and occasionally neighbors who weren't afraid to enter a Mormon church would drop over for food and conversation. That simply doesn't happen anymore, based on what I've heard and seen. It's unfortunate if that's the case.

Re: Is a community garden at every church possible?

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2023 7:32 pm
by Bonfire
Dirty Bird wrote:
Thu Nov 09, 2023 4:03 pm
When I was a child, I used to love to open the church door and smell the aroma of baked cinnamon buns, bacon, hamburgers, and occasionally, full Christmas dinners complete with turkeys, hams, and all the fixins. Every table under the stage would be set up, and occasionally neighbors who weren't afraid to enter a Mormon church would drop over for food and conversation. That simply doesn't happen anymore, based on what I've heard and seen. It's unfortunate if that's the case.
These are the things I miss too. I used to anxiously await holidays when everyone would get together to hold an event at the church. We would make our best entree then dance or sing. There would be eyes on all the couples, wondering who was interested in whom, everyone imagining what a great world was upcoming.

There seems to be a terrible emphasis on money or liability. The love dried up at covid with Bitcoin, pornography, online stalking, or other jealous endeavors.

A garden would be amazing, though I wonder whether these events were ever meant to be in the church. The church can be a good place to learn about the scriptures or how to live as you gain experience shared by older adults or companions. The garden would be nice to have rather than grass, but most kids just want a parking lot when they are young so they don't have to mow the lawn. Once they grow up past Tinder or slaying weems or trapping ravagers or playing videogames there is a lot more to learn about the Earth, especially when you have to take care all alone, rather than eating all those delicious treats in the kitchen.

Once the saints that bless everyone are gone, they aren't going to be anywhere but as a testimony in your memory or a scar on your heart.

Re: Re:

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2023 11:52 pm
by Cnsl1
Bonfire wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:55 pm

What does thrusting a sickle mean to you?
I don't know, but it doesn't sound like something you should be doing at church.

What was Joseph thinking when he talked about a marvelous work about to come forth?

Don't go thrusting your sickle at ward functions, Bonfire. You might get arrested.

Re: Re:

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2023 2:05 pm
by Hagoth
Cnsl1 wrote:
Thu Nov 09, 2023 11:52 pm
Bonfire wrote:
Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:55 pm

What does thrusting a sickle mean to you?
I don't know, but it doesn't sound like something you should be doing at church.

What was Joseph thinking when he talked about a marvelous work about to come forth?

Don't go thrusting your sickle at ward functions, Bonfire. You might get arrested.
He said sickle, not Pickle!