Locally, Beach Lake congregants maintain a 12,000 square foot organic garden filled with sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, pumpkins, and flowers. As a ministry of the church’s Evangelism and Membership Care Team, the garden extends the hospitality of Jesus Christ, building relationships within the church and extending them into the community. They participate in “Plant a Row for the Hungry,” an organization that encourages gardeners to donate surplus produce to local programs to help feed the hungry. For Pastor Mark Terwilliger, the growth comes not only in the garden, but also in the lives of participants. 

“I like to think of the church as place to learn and grow,” he said. “If we’re not learning and growing then our faith isn’t very active.” He said that by understanding how locally grown food protects the environment, congregants could be better stewards of the earth.

Beach Lake’s agricultural efforts extend beyond the backyard. Whether they are purchasing palm leaves for Palm Sunday or drinks for coffee hour, they are concerned with the condition in which products are grown. Beach Lake uses Eco-Palms on Palm Sunday—environmentally responsible, fair-trade palm branches. Through the church’s lobbying efforts, the palms are now available to United Methodists nationally via the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)). Members also support the UMCOR Coffee Project, selling Equal Exchange fair trade organic coffee (www.equalexchange.com) at church to area businesses and at their annual conference gatherings.