Return to the Garden

Learn how to start a community garden at church. Grow food, build community, do good work, have fun, eat well, and care for the Earth upon which we all depend.

Download the Return to the Garden resource that shows congregations how to start community gardens. This has been updated for 2009. (A low resolution version is available.) Check out the community garden timeline. Or download the PDF timeline. Does your congregation have a community garden? If so, complete a form and let us know about your garden. What do you do with all of that fresh produce? Check out the following cookbook: Simply In Season (World Community Cookbook) by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-wert

Is your church garden on the map? Find out >

Download a bulletin insert for your congregation.

Join the R2G listserve.

The Vision

The vision of Return to the Garden is to train Disciples how to address hunger relief, food security, and Earth stewardship through community gardening.

Community gardening for congregations

The 2009 Indianapolis General Assembly marked the fourth Return to the Garden training event. With 22 people participating, our total participants since 2005 now exceed 100. We expect 40 to 60 more participants after the Women's 2010 Quadrennial Assembly.

The 2007 Return to the Garden event was made possible in part by participants in both the Portland (Ore.) Assembly and the Indianapolis Mix in ’06. At Portland, members of the University Christian Church (UCC) youth group who participated returned home with a mission to start a garden there. At Indianapolis, UCC associate pastor Cyndy Twedell participated, and having recalled the youth group’s desire to start a garden, also returned home with a mission to start a garden. After many conversations on land use (do we build a parking lot or plant a garden?), an organic community garden was launched in March 2007 at UCC.

Thanks to DHM, Disciples Volunteering, Yakama Christian Mission and Week of Compassion, Return to the Garden was launched nationwide at the 2005 Portland, Ore., General Assembly. In 2006, Return the Garden continued at Mix in '06. More than 30 women participated, witnessing the significance that church gardens can have in their communities.

Disciples Gardens mapped

A list of congregations who have community gardens is now mapped!

Community garden timeline

Download a PDF of the timeline by clicking on the image below.