“Act Justly. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly.”
A friend and fellow gardener wanted to know
recently if our garden was starting to “pop” yet! Hardly! Al and I are just in the planning stage of our
backyard garden, trying to figure out what to plant in our limited space. The
weather is still too unpredictable to start seeds outdoors.
However,
early in March on a Saturday morning, we participated in a seed planting work
day at the Micah 6 Community Gardens in Pontiac. Coleman Yoakum, Executive
Director of Micah 6, founded the organization in August of 2012 together with a
group of friends.
Central to their purpose was the scripture
from Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord
require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God.”
It
began by purchasing one house across from an abandoned school, Webster
Elementary School. Today there are two houses owned by the Micah 6 Community,
inhabited by interns in the summer and used for Bible Studies, tutoring and summer
camp for the children in the neighborhood.
Webster
school has also been purchased by the organization, with plans to completely
renovate and turn it into a community center. What used to be the school playground
has now become a flourishing garden, with three greenhouses—one of which is
state of the art where seeds can be germinated and young plants tended until
ready to be put into the other hoop houses or planted in an outdoors bed.
Micah
6 also owns and operates a nearby “Sprout Fresh Food” Store, as a way to get the
fresh vegetables to families in the neighborhood at low cost. Vegetables from
the garden are also accessible to the neighbors who are welcome to come and pick at harvest time.
On
that Saturday, some of the volunteers mixed soil and put it into containers
that would hold four, six, twelve or more plants. Others planted the seeds in
the containers making a shallow indentation using a fingertip, and then
dropping in the seeds one by one… brussels sprouts, spinach, lettuce and
others, including flowers.
Al was involved in the seed planting. One of
the leaders showed him how to separate the tiny seeds by putting them in the
crease of a folded piece of paper and using the tip of a knife to scoot each one off the paper and into the
indentation in the soil. That made his task easier!
It
was my first time in the greenhouse, so I was happy to do odd jobs, like
cleaning out shelves, filling the watering container and helping sweep up soil from
the floor so that it could be reused. It was nice watching how everyone worked
together and quickly got their tasks
accomplished.
The
trays of seeds were watered, covered in plastic (temporarily) and carried to
some empty tables in another part of the expansive greenhouse. Some people
stayed on to help harvest turnips growing profusely in one of the hoop houses.
Kale, collards, beets, spinach and turnips
were flourishing indoors after growing all winter long. In addition to
harvesting plenty of turnips for the Sprout Fresh store, there were even some
to share with staff and volunteers. Healthy food to promote a healthy way of
living!
The
success of the community gardens is due to the dedication of its leaders, with
three different groups of volunteers rotating so that there are people working in
them every day of the week. On that particular morning, Coleman also came by
with greetings and hugs. After taking
pictures, he sped off to another location.
Al
and I were also able to plant some trays for our own garden during that
workday. Planting in the ground is still a few weeks off, but thanks to help
from the folks at Micah 6, the next time someone asks about our garden, I’ll be
able to say that it’s growing!
People…
giving, sharing, loving…and making a real difference in the community in Jesus’
name. Now that is something we can all do!
“This
service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is
also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service
by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that
accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in
sharing with them and with everyone else.” 2 Corinthians
9:12-13 NIV
(pictured above, Al picking turnips in one of the Micah 6 hoop houses.)
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