If your church was blessed with a large piece of land, what would you do with that blessing?
This is a question members of Grace Ottumwa—a United Methodist Church in Ottumwa, Iowa—have been thinking about since their church first formed in 2019 and they purchased 13 acres of land. For them, the answer is simple: Steward the property in ways that will serve the congregation, care for the environment, and help the community.
“This is a church of people who don’t just stay in their church. They connect with people in their community…to get to know people, to hear stories,” says Rev. Chris Childs, pastor of Grace Ottumwa. Whether it’s addressing food insecurity, homelessness, or the environment, the congregation sees how different social justice issues are connected and they want to take action in whatever ways they can.
Grace Garden
Grace has implemented several eco projects over the past few years that have helped steward their land and enable them to serve their community. One of these projects is their Grace Garden—a vegetable garden that provides local food pantries, residences, and others in need with healthy produce. This year, the garden yielded over 7500 pounds of produce—close to 4 tons of vegetables.
The idea first sprouted in 2020 as one way the church could use their land to serve the community. As enthusiasm about the garden idea grew, a group was formed to plan and implement the project. After the plot of land was tilled, they planted their first vegetables on Good Friday despite a blanket of snow on the ground that day!
In that first year, the garden served one food pantry. Then, as congregation members networked with others and learned about additional needs in the community, their list of organizations grew. The garden now serves around 10 organizations and residences in the area.
“I’m really proud of how much we serve our community through our Grace Garden,” says Eileen Day, a member of the congregation. “The produce that we take to people and the diversity of people that we provide produce to.”
Since the garden’s beginning, multiple members of the congregation have been involved in tilling, caring for the plants, and harvesting. The congregation even applied for several grants which helped fund supplies and equipment like seeds, fencing, and a storage shed. Grace Garden also includes a border of flowers which provides beauty and helps attract bees and other pollinators.
Moving Towards Solar Energy
This year, Grace’s biggest eco initiative has been a solar panel project for their church.
When members of the congregation began asking about the potential for solar energy, Pastor Chris suggested putting together a group of people to research it. An invitation went out to the congregation and many people joined. The working group began by talking with solar energy companies and other experts in the community. They discovered that solar panels would save their church $10,000 annually. Even with the initial high costs, they knew it would provide significant savings in the long run.
In addition, helping the environment was a motivating factor for converting to solar energy. “God gave us 13 acres of land,” shares Carol Ryon, a member of Grace. “How can we best use this to … help our church, but help the environment, help the community? And so solar was one of those things that we thought fit many different aspects of it.”
Working together as a team, the group helped move the solar panel project forward, despite some unexpected delays along the way. The panels are scheduled to be installed in the coming year and the congregation is excited to see the final result of their efforts.
Leading a Creation Care Bible Study
This past year, two of Grace’s congregation members, Ray Ryon and Beverly Bethune, attended a class for lay servant training called “Loving People and Planet in the Name of God.” They were exposed to multiple climate justice issues and the class became a catalyst for leading a creation care Bible study at Grace.
Pastor Chris gave Ray and Beverly a Bible study called Growing Faith, a resource from Iowa Faith & Climate Network. After reading through the materials, Ray and Beverly decided to attend Iowa Faith & Climate Network’s Called to Climate Action conference to learn more.
“I attended the conference last spring as a learning opportunity because I consider myself a rookie at environmental involvement. At that conference I learned more about air and water quality issues and that has inspired me to become a water tester next spring,” says Beverly.
When Ray and Beverly co-led the Bible study that spring, the course material—which included elements of scripture and education on environmental issues—helped the group make connections between their faith and caring for creation. They came up with actionable ideas they could implement in their church—including encouraging people to bring their own mugs, instead of using disposable cups—that would help people think further about stewardship.
In the spring, Pastor Chris also held a weekly sermon series on creation care, reflecting on the story of creation, their belief about the end times, and why Christians should should care about this world. The series also included a sermon from Deaconess Irene DeMaris, Executive Director of Iowa Faith & Climate Network.
“It’s interesting how much we think church should just be about the spiritual things,” says Pastor Chris. “Our responsibility that God gave us to care for this world—it’s the first commandment in the Bible, take care of this place.”
Environmental Stewardship is a Process
No matter what eco project Grace is working on, one thing is consistent: it’s a team effort. Through working groups and committees, members of Grace join together to research, develop plans, and consider long-term impacts and sustainability.
One of their recently formed groups has been tasked with figuring out how to effectively use the land on their church property in a way that highlights their stewardship and care for creation.
Currently, it takes several hours a week to mow the grass and the congregation wants to reduce that. “How can we make it more environmentally friendly, do something with the land God’s given us?” says Carol Ryon, a member of Grace.
Although the planning is still in the early stages, there’s a lot of momentum around it. When the group invited congregation members to do a property walk, more than 20 people showed up to join in discussions about what could be done with different sections. Many are interested in planting pollinator-friendly plants, building walking paths, or creating prayer garden areas.
They hope to use the land in ways that will connect people to creation and their spiritual life.
Stewarding their church grounds will be an ongoing process, but it will also be a chance to inspire other faith communities, to showcase how congregations can creatively use the gifts they’ve been given to care for creation.
“We were fortunate to be able to get the land along with our church building,” says Ray. “To be able to show stewardship in our church and to be able to witness to other people about care of creation by using that as an example is something that I feel is really important.”
Iowa Faith & Climate Network equips individuals and communities across the state with information, training, and resources to take climate action. Learn more about how you can start an environmental project in your faith community by checking out our Iowa Eco-project Map.
Deborah Douglas is a mission-driven writer and content creator who is passionate about making a difference for people and the planet. Based in Ankeny, IA, she enjoys gardening and spending time in nature with her family.