Interview: Candy Evans & Lori Robbins, Faith in the Sunshine State

As we in the northeast are ramping up our growing season, they're winding down from theirs in Florida, where Candy Evans and Lori Robbins (pictured, right and below--photos by Ron Abbott) work with their United Methodist Church congregation to run "Cason Community Garden" in Delray Beach. 

With the busy season behind them, Candy and Lori shared the inspiring story of how their church fought back from a membership and budget crisis by planting a vibrant vegetable garden and, through its bounty, revitalizing the congregation as a lynchpin of a close-knit community.

How did Cason Community Garden start?

A little over a year ago, Cason United Methodist Church was a church in crisis.  Like many other churches today, we were faced with dwindling members, an unbalanced budget, and declining interest in programs and missions. Our spiritual crisis was a direct result in failing to address vital relationships between faith, work, money, stewardship, giving, and the capacity to serve its people. Thus, Cason went through a very difficult period with the real possibility of the closing of its doors.

A task force was assembled and every aspect of the church was evaluated.  One of the areas that we looked at was how could we as a church family become more outwardly focused? What missions could we create to help our community as well as increase our visibility in the city? How could we be the church that God wanted us to be? 

We looked at the assets that we had at our disposal.  The one that was the most obvious to us was the four acres of land behind the church property that had been vacant for 39 years. Didn’t we owe it to ourselves and the community to create a connection between the citizens and the limited remaining green space?   After seeing a clip on community gardening, we had a “light bulb” moment.   We knew without a doubt that this was what the church and the community needed.

After all, the beginning of all creation started in a garden.  “Eden” in Hebrew means delight.  It is with great delight we can offer this small act of love for God to use for larger purposes.

Your brochure has the line “Sowing the Seeds of Faith.” Can you share an example of when the garden has done just that?

Cason Community Garden started with two women who had a dream to keep the church alive. We knew very little about gardening and had no resources to speak of.  However, we did have everlasting faith, a will to survive, and an opportunity to make Christ known to the community of Delray Beach through the garden.  With every step in the building of the garden at Cason, doors opened and volunteers and supplies were offered!  With God’s hand we were guided through.

People in their 80’s to young children and the homeless helped till the soil, build the plots, and plant the seeds.  Food grown was donated weekly to the Caring Kitchen to assist in feeding the hungry.

How does the garden reach out to the community?

First of all, the economy is at its lowest levels in history. Families are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. 

Unemployment is at an all time high. Recently, there have been many reports of illnesses and even deaths associated with contaminated foods that have been grown and shipped from thousands of miles away.  Not only does this affect the safety of our food but, it also has a very negative impact on our environment creating a huge carbon footprint.  People have to rely on food manufacturers and producers for their food and its quality.  Ask a child where a carrot comes from and most likely they would point to the produce section of the grocery store. 

A garden would provide the opportunity for people to grow their own organic food free of chemicals and pesticides and work side by side with our children teaching them gardening skills, sharing stories, and also learn about the sustainability of our earth.  It also would provide a source of exercise and mental renewal.  Gardening is good for the soul!

Cason Community Garden is open to any citizen of Delray Beach.  You do not need to know how to garden and you can be of any age.  We work with a Master Gardener who teaches us about how to garden and guides us through the growing season.  The garden provides an opportunity to commune with a cross-section of people who share an interest in growing food using organic techniques. The one criterion for joining is that at least 10% of the crop yield must be donated to the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach.  It is with great pleasure to report that over 200 pounds of produce have been donated since we started the garden, six months ago.  We have given lettuce, eggplant, cabbage, tomatoes, green peppers, collards, Swiss chard, beet greens, onions, and herbs of every variety.

How do you connect your gardening work to you faith?

Opening Cason Community Garden was a way for our church to use a resource that was sitting idle for 39 years and doing nothing but being mowed once a month to being a productive source of nourishment to those that want to get close to mother earth, learn a skill that feeds their family and the needy, work with others that are faithful and mindful of nature and the environment.  Working in the garden is hard work, but it is also rewarding and fruitful work.   Watching the seeds go in the ground, seeing the sprouts pop through the earth, and then harvesting the fruit is truly God’s work at its best.

We built a raised bed that is in the shape of a cross and it sits in the center of the garden.  It is the focal point in the garden and we are always reminded of God’s blessings and bounty.

Opening the garden was full of obstacles and challenges, but we prayed throughout the process and when one door closed, another opened. We knew that if this was the mission that God was blessing, the garden would be a success.  We are about to close our first growing season with 20 plots, and we are planning to expand next year. God has blessed us!