Salford Mennonite Church
480 Groffs Mill Rd. Harleysville, PA 19438
(215) 256-0778
Sunday Worship - 10 a.m. In-person & YouTube Live
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YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US FOR

Gardening for Peace: Addressing Food Insecurity and Gun Violence
Saturday, September 24, 2022
  • Opening and garden tour 1-2pm
  • Pre-event workshops and activities for children 1st-5th grade: 2-3, 3:15-4:15
  • Dinner featuring vegetables from the garden: 4:30-5:30
  • MAIN EVENT: Forging a gun into a garden tool with Shane Claiborne & Mike Martin 6-7:30
Sunday, September 25, 2022
  • Sunday morning worship and second hour with Shane Claiborne – 9:30am

IMPORTANT NOTES:
  • ADMISSION: 1 bag of non-perishable food to donate
  • There will be peace activities & games offered during the workshops for children who are entering 1st through 5th grades. Volunteers are cleared to work with children.
  • Workshop participants and their children are invited to a meal after the workshops, 4:30-5:30 PM. Dishes will feature vegetables from the Salford-Advent Church Garden.
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Please register by September 6th
Click Here for information about Pre-Event Workshops ​


Download our promotional flier and spread the word!

For more information, call ​​484.798.0724.
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Reducing food insecurity can contribute to reducing crime in our community. By turning a gun into garden tools, we hope to dramatize this connection. 
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In a study from Clemson University, “The results show that a one percent increase in food insecurity leads to an increase in the violent crime rate of approximately 12 percent holding other predictors of violent crime constant”[1].
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[1] An Examination of Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Violent Crime in American Communities
Salford Mennonite and Advent Lutheran have a wonderful garden ministry. Steve Blank, our garden coordinator, writes: “Every year is different. Last year (2021) we grew over 9,500 lbs. Our highest year was over 10 tons of vegetables given away! In 2022, we are on track for a big year in the 15-18,000 lbs. range. It all depends on the tomatoes. If they come in heavy, the weight really goes up. One year we had over 9,000 lbs. of tomatoes alone.”
“Transforming instruments of violence into tools of peace!”
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Shane Claiborne, Red Letter Christians and Mike Martin, RAWTools will turn a gun from our local community into a garden tool. To learn more about Mike Martin and RAWtools, read this article from Mennonite Church USA.
Some impacts of gun violence: 
  • Guns kill about 38,000 people per year; over half of those are suicides. (p.41)
  • Suicide by gun has surpassed war as the military’s leading cause of death. (p.39)
  • An estimated 73,000 people are injured each year by guns, many of them in life-altering ways (p.39)
  • There are nearly five times more licensed gun dealers than McDonalds restaurants (p.39)
From Beating Guns: Hope for People Weary of Violence by Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin, Brazos 2019
Using “Gardening for Peace” as a pattern for our pre-event workshops, we want to celebrate and look for other areas where “gardens of peace” are flourishing in the diverse faith traditions of our community and to continue ongoing dialogue.

​Here is a sample of the workshops we are planning for 2-4pm on Saturday, September 24:
  1. Local nonprofit organizations responding to food insecurity in Montgomery County            
  2. Loaded Conversations, a guide to talk about gun violence                   
  3. FEAR NOT, creating a plan for an active shooter 
  4. The Movement for Black and Brown Lives in Montgomery County
  5. Healing for "lifers" in prison
  6. Suicide prevention
Salford Mennonite Church is a member of Mosaic Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Church USA, and Mennonite World Conference.