Communal Gardening
Thanksgiving is an American festival that was formed when the settlers of America gathered to give thanks to God for that years harvest. The original produce at the time was corn, squash, carrots, cabbage, beans, nuts, rabbits, deer, and lobster. Along the same lines, the Hebrews had a feast called the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkoth. This was an extension of the Ingathering Feast when the olives, grapes, and other crops were harvested. These these two feasts were celebrated by the Hebrews at around the same as Thanksgiving. These feasts were a time when the Hebrews and settlers came together as a families and communities to work, eat and celebrate what God had provided.
In our society, this concept of celebrating the blessing of food has been all but forgotten. We can buy whatever food we want at any time we want without ever making the connection between God and the harvest. Thanksgiving and the Feast of Tabernacles were not only celebrated by individuals and families, but also by communities. The Harvest Network wants to revive this connection between people, food and God through communal gardens. A communal garden is a place where food is grown in the context of community.
Harvesting certain foods today can lend itself to the ideals promoted in the biblical Feasts. For example, the harvest of the first crop of potatoes and sweet corn can provide an excellent opportunity for a communal celebration. Digging up and storing the potatoes, along with picking, cutting, and freezing the sweet corn can be done communally. Not to mention the feast and thanksgiving to God from the foods harvested. After the fall harvest comes the first frost, which kills the plants and leaves. This determines the last of the produce to be picked. Most likely this would include winter squash, sweet potatoes, and the last harvest for potatoes and sweet corn.
As you can imagine, the whole process from planting to harvesting to feasting would create a sense of community and thankfulness to God that was at the very heart of the biblical Feasts.
A communal garden can exist within extended families, neighborhoods, churches, coworkers, close knit communities, orginizations or any group of people wanting to team up and grow their own food. Harvest Network exists to help you see your dream of a communal garden becoming a reality.
