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Lutherans & Mennonites
Garden plants seeds of trust H
ow did Lutherans and Mennonites in Harleysville, Pa., find a way to grow together in faith after centu- ries of misunderstanding between their traditions? It began with a curious ELCA pastor on a bicycle and Mennonite gardeners who were open to planting seeds ecumenically.
Steve Godsall-Myers often rode past a one-acre commu- nity garden on the grounds of Salford Mennonite Church, not far from Advent Lutheran where he has served since 2010. “I would see folks work- ing in the garden and I was so impressed by what they were doing,” he said. “I just had to find out more about it.” Godsall-Myers had another reason to get to know his Men- nonite neighbors better. He knew the Lutheran World Fed- eration Assembly had taken
grow A tabletop of produce reveals the garden’s bounty.
the historic step in July 2010 of asking for forgiveness for persecutions and portrayals of Anabaptist Christians (the forebears of Mennonites) rooted in the 1500s Ref- ormation and continuing to this day. Those persecutions resulted in part from theological differences over Anabap- tist writings that condemned infant baptism. In 2011, Bishop Claire Burkat followed up by issu- ing an apology to local Mennonites at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly at Franconia Mennonite Church, Telford, Pa., where its gatherings have been held for years. Tears of joy marked both occasions. The work of 21st-century historians reveals “how poorly Lutherans and Anabaptists had known each other in the early days of the Reformation, and indeed how poorly Lutherans had treated fellow Christians,” Godsall- Myers said. “Lutherans had persecuted Anabaptists, and Lutheran theologians had given their consent.” He first learned of these differences while attending the Lutheran
together Text and photo by Mark Staples
Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in the 1980s. At the time, those differences were only a footnote to his study of the Lutheran Reformation.
Godsall-Myers met with Joseph Hackman, pastor of Salford, to determine how the congregations might develop a relationship. They began with yearly evenings of prayer, worship and fellowship at each church. Both thought their faith communities could do even more together. “We had been talking about developing a community garden at Advent,” Godsall- Myers said. “Soon we were invited to join forces with the Mennonite [garden project] that had taken root six years earlier.”
Crops include corn, beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauli- flower, peppers, tomatoes,
turnips, cantaloupes, watermelon, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, beets, carrots and okra. The produce benefits local senior centers, a social service agency, a food pantry and soup kitchen, and people living in hardship. Volunteers from both churches pick crops for distri- bution two evenings a week. Others come out for a long Saturday workday each week, supervised by Salford members Joel Alderfer and Harry Derstine. “On Saturdays people come by asking if they can have some of the produce, and we make it available to people in need,” Alderfer said.
Both he and Derstine appreciate the heartfelt efforts at reconciliation that made the garden a joint initia- tive. “Those Lutherans … they are really committed to this project,” Alderfer said. “They are a bunch of hard workers.”
Staples, who is retired, writes for the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale, Pa.
April 2013 27
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