The Garden of Hope

By Phil Tom, Associate for Small Church and Community Ministry

The Westminster Presbyterian Church Garden of Hope now has 17 renters. Much of the produce is collected and shared with local food pantries. Photo by Michelle Parsons.

Westminster Presbyterian Church, a smaller-membership congregation located in Belleville, Ill., on the outskirts of St. Louis, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Westminster’s congregation has been involved with the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy’s congregational transformation training program, focusing its mission on the surrounding neighborhood. Westminster’s young, dynamic pastor, the Rev. Michelle Parsons, is leading the congregation in its transformational ministry effort that includes a community garden, an archery program for kids, a martial arts ministry and an older adult ministry.

Westminster developed its community garden when two of its members — one a master gardener — decided to invite the community to participate with this ministry. The Garden of Hope now has 17 renters with leftovers collected and shared with local food pantries. The garden program expanded to include a Neighbors & Friends plot, where neighbors helped out with the garden and with making the food available to be gleaned by neighbors. In the Neighbors & Friends plot, the neighborhood children chose the seeds of the veggies they wanted to grow, helped plant them and have been out there at least once a week to help water and to see what's ready to harvest. Westminster also partnered with students from a local high school special education horticulture program. The city and the mayor of Belleville have generously supported the community garden.

Another Westminster member with archery skills decided to start a youth archery program – Spirit of Hope. This ministry has grown since last fall from eight youth to 22 participants. Two Westminster members, who both hold black belts in various martial arts, organized a Tae Kwon Do program that began this spring and is going strong. Westminster has also developed a tutoring ministry with a local elementary school, with hopes to expand into an after-school program. With the support of a transformation grant from the presbytery, the congregation is now working with its older adults through its Spectacular Adults ministry.

Westminster Church’s smaller membership congregation has shown that it can do great things for God in serving its members and its neighbors. Westminster’s pastor and members are passionate about sharing their God-given gifts for mission.