Below is a report back from one of our community grants. COG is keen to follow the progress of this great example of outreach.
Building Together: Droitwich Community Garden
In January 2022 a new Christadelphian church was created in the Westlands Community Centre in Droitwich. In order to get to know the local community one of the members started to attend the residents meetings and was interested to hear about their community garden project.
The residents were keen to use a piece of land near to the school to create a garden where they could work together to grow fruit and vegetables and provide a green space in a predominantly built up and run down area. Without a fence and without funding for a fence nothing could happen.
The Droitwich Christadelphians decided to help fund raise and started by running a fun day and a quiz. These events were supported and attended by members of the church and local residents. Thanks to these events, support from local businesses and a grant from COG, the money has been raised and the fence can be started.
Despite this being just the beginning and taking nearly a year to get to this point, it has been a real team effort. The community have not only made the church feel welcome, but have made it part of their community, supporting services such as the Harvest Festival and Operation Christmas Child, as well as events such as litter picking and a Jubilee party. In fact, they enjoyed the quiz so much that they are running their own quiz to raise more money for the garden and have invited us to attend. New relationships are being made and everyone is looking forward to working together in the garden to create a shared space and God willing, growing together as a community and church.
