From the Seed of an Idea, a Vision Becomes a Reality for St. Andrews Lutheran Congregation

The congregation at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 1015 Four Mile Rd., is taking the biblical directive to feed the hungry and poor seriously, and they are getting it right.

When Mark Trinklein began attending St. Andrew, he looked out at an expanse of unused lawn on the church property and a vision to use that ground to plant a garden was born. Just as in gardening, Mark’s vision required that seeds of his idea be planted, good ideas fertilized and pessimism weeded out.

The end result of their hard work and prayers was the St. Andrew Community Garden. Now in its fifth year, the garden has grown to more than Mark could have ever envisioned.

Some members of the church work together to plant, care for, and harvest the berries and flowers. Others are in the kitchen cleaning and preparing the harvest for canning, making soup or baking items that will be donated or sold at their summer Farmers’ Market. Volunteers from the Racine County’s Summer Youth Employment and Training Program, as part of their E3 program (Employ, Enrich and Engage), and a volunteer group from Careers Industries work in the garden. Careers helps employ people who have mental disabilities. The volunteers benefit by seeing the fruits of their labors in a literal sense, they also learn the science of gardening.

“That will be something that they can take with them the rest of their lives,” Trinklein.

Two-thirds of the vegetables produced are donated to the Northside Food Pantry at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3825 Erie St. In the 2010 season, this totaled a generous 3,500 pounds of food, which by way of the food pantry, was given directly to families in need of assistance. Another 1,000 pounds was donated to other local food pantries.

To raise the funds to support the garden, one third of the harvest is sold at their Farmers Market, held at the church, which will start their 2011 season in June, running from 2 to 5:30 p.m. every Thursday. Other vendors participating in this event come from throughout southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois to sell their own fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, or hand-made craft items and garden art.

In every way, the St. Andrew Lutheran Church Community Garden has fulfilled the early vision of bringing the members of the church together as a community. But the benefits did not stop there.

Inner city teens are getting an opportunity to learn how to garden in addition to helping develop a strong work ethic. The volunteers are rewarded with the joy and satisfaction of being able to make an important contribution.

Bringing people together at the Farmers Market has enriched the neighborhood and ultimately the whole community. Simply put, from the hearts of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the needs of the community are being met, and from the riches of their harvest, the hungry are being fed. Can it get any better?