Collard greens anyone?  Pilgrim Baptist Church in Ft. Wayne grows collard greens. In fact,  Pilgrim Baptist Church has made over $400 selling collard greens from their gardens to satisfied parishioners. The gardens at Pilgrim Baptists are filled with collard greens, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, zucchini, and so much more.  This summer the gardens have been tended to by 18 middle school gardeners in training as part of the Fort Wayne Urban League program. Along with learning gardening, the students have also been learning how to cook, self-confidence, how to budget and other classes to help them succeed in high school and in the world.  Sheila Curry Campbell is very proud of her students and their efforts and her many volunteers. Sheila is on the Board for the Ft. Wayne NAACP and supports many events and causes in her church and her community.

Gardening

One way of learning and about and appreciating the creation is through gardening.  All of these students had never grown vegetables before.  The cooking classes are held jointly with HEAL sponsored by Parkview Health and St. Joseph Community Health Foundation. What a great way to connect people to God’s creation.

Pilgrim Baptist in Ft. Wayne coordinates efforts with other organizations and churches in town.  For instance, they’ve received lots of gardening help from Paul Geradot at St. Henry’s Catholic church.

Almost 100 years old!

Pilgrim Baptist Church will celebrate its 100^th birthday next year.  Started in 1919 Worship services were held in a building that had originally been the tool shed of the Irmscher Construction Company but later became an ice house. This was the first building known as the Pilgrim Baptist Church and was the home of the small congregation from 1919 to 1923. Pilgrim Baptist built their current building and moved into their current building in 1985.

Saving Energy!

Pilgrim Baptist would like to learn more about how to lower their energy costs by doing things such as replacing light bulbs and old plumbing and free and low-cost things they can do to reduce energy costs.  I appreciated that all the lights were turned off in the parts of the building that were not being used. Turning off lights in unused areas is always a good place to start.  But how to fund these projects on a tight budget is always an issue.

Pilgrim Baptist will host a Green your Congregation event in the fall with H-IPL for Pilgrim Baptist and other congregations in the Fort Wayne area, so stay tuned for the date and time.