Pastor Luke Skipper of Rivers Church of Christ and volunteers from Moreton Bay Community Matters have transformed 300m² of bare dirt into a garden overgrown with potential. The volunteers-turned-gardeners planted the first lettuce in the community garden in late April, and are keen to recruit more volunteers to help nurture the new crops.
The community garden is open to anyone and has taken root in the philosophy of community support. All the seedlings were donated by local businesses, Theo’s Garden Centre and Greenstock Nurseries, while the hard work and sweat was contributed by Pastor Skipper and the troop of volunteers from Moreton Bay Community Matters. This was all done so the fruit and vegetables can go straight into the mouths of our community.
Thanks to their labour, tomatoes, lettuce and bok choy – so fresh it’s still got soil on it – have been added to the pre-existing food basket scheme run by Rivers Church of Christ and Moreton Bay Community Matters. The food baskets already contain an array of locally donated supplies to get anyone in need through the week, and now with the addition of home-grown vegetables, Rivers Church are spoiling the community rather than just taking care of it.
To reach out further into the community, Moreton Bay Community Matters run a free bi-monthly movie night at Rivers Church of Christ, where anybody in need of an escape is welcome to attend. This is just one of the many services provided by Rivers Church and Moreton Bay Community Matters.
Pastor Luke Skipper says, “We want a bigger, more holistic care of the community. We want to provide a safe place of acceptance and belonging.”
What Moreton Bay Community Matters have accomplished in a few months promises a great future for the garden. The group even plan to terraform their land to allow for the growth of fruit trees and a wider range of vegetables. Though it may look like Moreton Bay Community Matters are just growing a garden, they’re actually growing a community. “We don’t want to just be a garden or food bank, we want to foster a community – vegetables just happen to be involved,” one of the volunteers explained.
The Moreton Bay Community Matters Garden is open and welcome to anyone interested in getting their hands dirty, food in their stomach or warmth in their hearts.
If you would like to know more about the Community Gardens, contact Pastor Luke at luke.skipper@riverschurch.com or drop in at 120 Ann Street, Kallangur.