Gardening for Peace: Addressing Food Insecurity and Gun Violence
Took Place on Sept. 24, 2022 - Thank you for joining us!
"Justice Grows in the Garden" by Mandy Martin.
See the artist's explanation of this commissioned painting in the Summary Report.
The event attracted around 150 people for a garden tour, workshops for learning and collaboration, activities for children, a dinner featuring food from the garden, and the MAIN EVENT: Forging a gun into a garden tool with Shane Claiborne & Mike Martin
Learn more about what happened and our next steps in our Summary Report.
Next Steps in Advocating an End to Gun Violence
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Bryan Miller, who led the workshop on Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence, invites us to be part of The Montco Memorial to the Lost at Lansdale United Methodist Church on Broad Street, which was installed on Jan. 16 and will be displayed for three weeks. See this flier for details. And read the feature article here.
There will be a Lansdale Gun Violence Awareness Day on a Sunday this Spring- stay tuned for details! We are also asked to sign letters to our five local legislators to support common sense gun laws. Sign here at the Heeding God's Call website: heedinggodscall.org/letters View a sample letter here. |
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Workshop Titles and Next Steps:
1. Fear Not: Creating a plan to respond to active violence (MCC - Mike Martin and Jess Stoltzfus Buller) Ongoing conversation with Martin/Buller about using MCC’s curriculum at Salford 2. Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence: A How To (Bryan Miller) In conversation with Bryan Miller to support hosting an event in Lansdale in Spring 2023 3. Prison Reform (Dave Moyer) Prisoners as Neighbors ministry continues with inmates (current focus is on those who have life sentences); a veterans group has also been initiated 5. Are Christianity & Jesus Included in Islam? (Saleem Ahmed, MD FCPS) Dr. Ahmed invited to speak at “Let’s Talk” initiative by Salford members 6. Growing Food for Your Community (Steve Blank) Location: Church garden Section of garden will be dedicated to Lenape traditional vegetables: tuckahoes, corn and beans 7. A Loaded Conversation (MCC - Mike Martin and Jes Stoltzfus Buller) 8. A North Penn Where No One Is Hungry (Sheldon Good) Continuation of Salford’s ‘Project of the Month' food donations 9. Building Bridges through Civil Dialogue (Megan Briggs) Exploratory conversation with Ms. Briggs to host a Civil Dialogue in the Indian Valley 10. Guns and Suicide: The Means Matter (Mark Boorse) 11. History and Necessity of Dialogue Between Muslims and Christians (Aziz Nathoo) Mr. Nathoo is included in local Bible study. Salford members plan to connect with local refugees, in response to Mr. Nathoo’s invitation. If you or anyone you know has any questions about the follow-up or is interested in joining any of the follow-up actions, please contact Joe Landis at Salford Mennonite Church using our Contact Page. |
The banner was imagined by Salford’s Peace Camp leadership and created by the 80 children who attended in June 2022.
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Saturday Night's Main Event with Shane Claiborne and Mike Martin, featuring a testimony by Ed and Jackie Burleigh, who lost their daughter to violence.
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Sunday worship with Shane Claiborne preaching on "Blessed are the Peacemakers."
Sunday Q&A hour with Shane Claiborne.
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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!”
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)
Reducing food insecurity can contribute to reducing crime in our community. By turning a gun into garden tools, we hope to dramatize this connection.
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].
[1] An Examination of Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Violent Crime in American Communities
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].
[1] An Examination of Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Violent Crime in American Communities
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.
Below is a list of the pre-event workshops offered. Click here for more information about each workshop.
1. Fear Not: Creating a plan to respond to active violence (MCC - Mike Martin and Jess Stoltzfus Buller)
2. Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence - A How To (Bryan Miller)
3. Prison Reform (Dave Moyer)
4. Are Christianity & Jesus Included in Islam? (Saleem Ahmed, MD FCPS)
5. Growing Food for Your Community (Steve Blank) - Location: Church garden
6. A Loaded Conversation (MCC - Mike Martin and Jes Stoltzfus Buller)
7. A North Penn Where No One Is Hungry (Sheldon Good)
8. Building Bridges through Civil Dialogue (Megan Briggs)
9. Guns and Suicide: the Means Matter (Mark Boorse)
10. History and Necessity of Dialogue Between Muslims and Christians (Aziz Nathoo)
Below is a list of the pre-event workshops offered. Click here for more information about each workshop.
1. Fear Not: Creating a plan to respond to active violence (MCC - Mike Martin and Jess Stoltzfus Buller)
2. Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence - A How To (Bryan Miller)
3. Prison Reform (Dave Moyer)
4. Are Christianity & Jesus Included in Islam? (Saleem Ahmed, MD FCPS)
5. Growing Food for Your Community (Steve Blank) - Location: Church garden
6. A Loaded Conversation (MCC - Mike Martin and Jes Stoltzfus Buller)
7. A North Penn Where No One Is Hungry (Sheldon Good)
8. Building Bridges through Civil Dialogue (Megan Briggs)
9. Guns and Suicide: the Means Matter (Mark Boorse)
10. History and Necessity of Dialogue Between Muslims and Christians (Aziz Nathoo)
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"Justice Grows in the Garden" PaintingA behind-the-scenes look from Mandy Martin (mandymartinart.com) about her beautiful, intricate painting that was commissioned for Gardening for Peace. It is now on display in the Salford Mennonite Fellowship Hall.
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