General Assembly

Return to the Garden
(now part of Volunteers in Mission) ...

Join DHM, Volunteers in Mission, Yakama Christian Mission and Week of Compassion for the launching of the nationwide program, Return to the Garden. The program consists of three days, in three community gardens, with Volunteers in Mission! Garden volunteers will participate with other VIM pre-Assembly volunteers who will work in other areas of the community.

Register for Return to the Garden (see the Volunteers in Mission pages to determine your costs to participate. No additional fees will be charged to participate in Return to the Garden. Be sure to register for the pre-Assembly.)

Download a bulletin insert for your congregation.

Community garden volunteers will get hands-on experience in community gardens along with on-site instruction on how to organize community gardens. Additionally, volunteers will learn the importance of gardening as it relates to food quality, ecological stewardship, sustainable living, social and eco-justice issues and spiritual practice. Instructional emphases will be around hunger issues and building relationships with food banks.

Immediately following the pre-Assembly work, volunteers are invited to take their learnings to General Assembly, where they will spend time during Vision Fest promoting the concept of community gardening to Assembly attendees through the use of a hands-on display garden, small group presentations, and resources developed specifically for Return to the Garden.

The Vision

The vision is for Return to the Garden to be a regular component of future Assemblies. This first year we will prepare 20 trained participants and at least 50 Assembly attendees to return to their local communities, ready to start community gardens. Two years from now we will double that number. Four years from now—who knows?

Why is Return to the Garden important?

The issues related to the environment are so complicated that people don't fully understand how their day-to-day choices can have social and ecological consequences, at home and around the globe. However, most people are familiar with gardens.
Using gardening as the project anchor, we anticipate that:

• Gardens will become a centerpiece of communities and neighborhoods;
  
• Educational opportunities on issues of poverty, hunger, environmental and social issues will be incorporated into the program;
  
• Leadership opportunities for social activism will be created;
  
• Intergenerational and intercultural sharing will be a component of the gardens;
  
• Places of beauty will be created, perhaps in blighted areas;
  
• When possible, partnerships will be forged with local food banks and farmers markets.

As our culture continues to fragment into inner-city, urban, and rural communities, we no longer have a shared cultural experience, or even a common language. Returning to the land--by way of the garden--changes that. Whether we’re growing flowers in Los Angeles or squash in Des Moines, reconnecting with the Earth connects us with our communities and with each other. In reconnecting, gardening serves to enhance our understanding of the earth community in the form of an increased environmental consciousness.

Who are the organizers?

If you have questions, contact the organizers:

Angela Herrmann, Disciples Home Missions, (888) 346-2631
David Bell, Yakama Christian Mission Center, (509) 874-2824

About the gardens in which volunteers will work

Learn more about the community gardens in which volunteers will work by visiting their Web sites. Just click on their names to open their sites.

• Oregon Food Bank
• Northeast Emergency Food Program
• Patton Home Gardens Project
  

What is the cost to participate?

The only costs associated with Return to the Garden are what you will pay to participate in the Volunteers in Mission pre-Assembly. Please review the Volunteers in Mission information and registration page for more information.

Registration is open to everyone

Register for Return to the Garden via the VIM pre-Assembly registration page. Registration is open to everyone.

VIM/Garden Schedule

Thursday July 21 Northeast Emergency Food Program	Friday July 22 Patton Home Gardens Project	Saturday July 23 Oregon Food Bank
7 a.m.: breakfast with VIM 8 a.m.: orientation 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: work at gardens Training conducted during extended lunch period 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: dinner and worship	7 a.m.: breakfast with VIM 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: work at gardens Training conducted during extended lunch period 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: dinner and worship	7 a.m.: breakfast with VIM 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.: work at gardens Lunch until 1 p.m.