Youth scatter seeds of faith
In a swath of open land under high power lines, Katherine Scott fights weeds of two kinds. She pulls the scraggly green intruders that crop up among flowers and tomatoes that grow in neat rows. She also fights weeds of bickering and disrespect that can put down roots of ill will between people.
When the weeds are pulled, life flourishes. Scott said.
She began a community garden last year in the Turner Station of the Dundalk community, with the help of the youth of St. Matthew’s UMC, a man who goes by the name “Doc Moan” and other adults.
“Here we are today, trying to improve what once was a very blighted, under-used area,” Scott said one late June morning as 10 youth and adults tilled and planted around her.
“Now, it’s being used more, more people are working together, forming community partnerships.” Before they started, some areas of the garden were walls of weeds that even a lawn mower couldn’t cut through, Scott said.
Now in its second year, the partially organic garden is about the size of a football end zone, and Scott and other volunteers have tilled a handful of garden plots with mulched pathways in between.
There are two watermelon patches, rows of squash and bush beans, tomatoes, butterfly-attracting flowers, broccoli, already-fruiting jalapenos, marigolds to discourage insects and come fall, eggplant.
Inspiring Scott is the Luke 8:4-8 parable about the farmer that sows seeds on good soil. Scott works to prepare good soil in the garden plots — adding compost and slow-release fertilizer — as well as good soil in the hearts of the youth.
The parable itself was a seed that sprouted the idea for a garden.
“We were having Bible study and reading the Scripture of Jesus’ story about when the farmer planted seeds and some got planted in the good soil; they grew and some were planted by thorn bushes,” said N’Osynt Daughtry, 10, whose favorite garden task is turning over the soil. “Then, we got the idea to make a garden.”
Plants are donated, grown from seed or taken from cuttings from Scott’s or neighbors’ gardens.
Donated tomato cages and other tools help keep the garden in shape.
Though there’s a core group of about 10 to 12 youth and adults, “we really need more help,” Scott said, looking around. Gardeners gather to sow, water and weed each Saturday morning when the weather
allows, and Scott and adult volunteers work sporadically during the week to irrigate and prepare for the youth on Saturday.
On this sunny June Saturday, Scott keeps a close eye on youth at work, correcting and directing the evolution of the garden. “Some kids need more help,” said the loving mentor, but other kids know exactly what to do.
“Montel, keep it close to the ground,” she warns as one young man swings wildly with a long-handled hoe. Glancing in another plot, “Not too much fertilizer,” she calls to a girl throwing fistfuls into soil. She adds aloud, “Looks like we’re going to have to water those sunflowers that we transplanted.”
Water wasn’t a problem this spring: Weeks of rain delayed planting, and soggy conditions became frustrating. Obstacles still include getting local park maintenance mowers to cut the tall grasses that gardeners must walk through to access the garden.
Scott is nearly finished with her Master Gardener certification and uses her greener thumb to apply
scientific and ecological knowledge to the garden plans. She’s passing on her garden know-how to the youth and adult volunteers.
Other lessons help young gardeners grow as people of God.
As late-morning sun intensifies, patience runs thin among some of the group. Scott stops the work and calls the youth together: “This is a teachable moment. Remember when the Bible talks about the sheep and the goats?” she said. “God loves each person and so we need to show respect for others. If someone offends you, you can just walk away … Remember, those who are humble are considered the greatest.”
The community garden is watered with laughter, too. To make it their own, the youth stuffed a scarecrow dressed in overalls and put up butterfly boxes, which Daughtry and JoAnna Davis, 12, show off to a visitor. They point out which flowers they each planted. A whimsical handmade sign reads Weeds for Sale; wind chimes and a birdbath enrich the atmosphere.
When it’s time to reap the harvest, vegetables and fruits will go home with youth, neighbors, seniors and to the church’s homeless ministry.
But it is seeds of faith, love and a sense of community that Scott and others hope to cultivate in the hearts of St. Matthews’ youth.
“It’s easy to be selfish,” said Scott, “but everything we do, we do to give God glory.”
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