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Tabernacle Baptist Church pastor Lonnie Moore opened an informational meeting about a family garden Saturday with a short message. Luba Manyak, president of Family Christian Center, is seated listening. (Photo by Mike Moore / April 7, 2012) |
Preaching from Genesis chapters 2 and 3 Saturday, Tabernacle Baptist Church pastor Lonnie Moore told the 35 people gathered for the organizational meeting of Family Christian Center’s family garden that God was the original gardener.
“He walked with Adam in the cool of the day,” Moore said, adding that God used a garden as a means of fellowship as he tied his message into the building of a family unit.
Getting back to family is the crux behind the Family Christian Center of Kentucky.
FCC’s mission, according to an information sheet, is “We believe a strong country begins with strong, healthy and happy families. A strong family is built on Christian principles from God’s word. Through teamwork and a helping hand, we desire to instill in individuals the character, principles and skills necessary to build strong, lasting relationships within their family and with God.”
Luba Manyak, president of FCC, said the idea of a family garden is to bring families together.
“We are quick to bring aid to other countries when there is a need,” Manyak said in a letter included in her information packet. “Now it is time that we pour ourselves into helping our own children in our own country to develop in every way that God would ask of them.”
The community garden is a springboard effort of FCC’s, associate pastor R.J. Morelli said.
“There’s many aspects that are going to be involved; it has a kind of a home economics and culinary aspect to get young people and families back to actually cooking and enjoying family meals,” he said. “In today’s society, it’s a lot of fast-food, and families don’t even eat together.”
The family garden will allow parents and children to work together and they will learn to grow a variety of plants.
“It is designed to give some satisfaction of work accomplishment and to teach them a new trade,” Morelli said. “It’s designed to teach young people and adults, as well, the skill of gardening and the trade of it.”
FCC has about an acre of land that is already tilled and a manuered plot for each family.
Manyak said depending on the how many families sign up, plot sizes will be 10 feet-by-20 feet or 20-by-20.
In addition, an extension agent with the Jessamine County Extension Office will educate participants in areas such as soil type, planting and disease control.
Participants will be required to provide their own tools. Seeds, plants, pesticides and chemicals will be available for purchase through FCC for a minimal fee.
Fees include a $10 application fee, $30 to cover cost of plot preparation and a cleaning deposit of $30. The cleaning deposit will be refunded after the final plot inspection at the end of the gardening season.
Manyak and Morelli said the family garden will serve as a springboard for other FCC goals.
“Language is going to be offered, and there are several other things are going to be coming up in the future, but we’re starting with the garden,” Morelli said.
Future programs FCC wants to offer include music training, foreign languages, and arts and crafts classes.
For more information on the family garden, call Manyak 859-913-0059 or e-mail FCCKentucky@gmail.com.
