Gardens are a gathering place for spiritual growth at many local churches, and congregation members of all ages are learning that the rewards for working the land are bountiful.

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Monty Naylor and the volunteers who work the Servant’s Garden at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church were able to donate 1,343 pounds of fresh produce to the Our Daily Bread and Salvation Army soup kitchens last year.

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“So many people have found great joy working in the garden and serving other people,” said the Rev. Peggy Ogden-Howe, pastor of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Denton. “It just really meets the needs of others to care about other people as God has commanded.”

Last year, the church’s 80-by-60-foot garden produced 1,343 pounds of fresh produce, which was donated to the Our Daily Bread and Salvation Army soup kitchens. The garden is named the Servant’s Garden, referring to the fact that Jesus Christ “came to serve, not to be served,” according to Ogden-Howe.

For an organization grateful for leftovers, a donation of fresh produce to Our Daily Bread means not only that hungry people eat better, but that 100 percent of the donation is useable.

“It impacts us greatly,” said Our Daily Bread’s certified chef Liz Whitaker, who prepares 200 meals a day. “It’s tremendous — they bring in onions and supply 70 to 80 percent of the lettuce and collard greens we use. They also give us tomatoes. They are just fabulous. It’s a wonderful church.”

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The success of the garden is directly attributed to the exceptional quality of its dirt.

“The soil itself is very, very rich,” said Ogden-Howe. “We consider this a gift from God, and we are using the gift God has given us to serve other people.”

Church member Monty Naylor developed the garden in fall 2004. The garden also includes a 200-square-foot area of blackberries and an apple tree and pear tree.

“I just wanted to keep my hands in the dirt,” he said.

Naylor, with the assistance of nearly a dozen volunteers, harvests and weighs the food and delivers it to Our Daily Bread. So far this season, the church has provided more than 100 pounds of fresh vegetables.

“We’re really extraordinarily proud and blessed for this garden,” Ogden-Howe said. “It was just here waiting to be developed.”

Early in March, First United Methodist Church of Krum moved to a new location, and its first garden was planted even before the church’s doors opened.

“For a start, I guess it’s pretty good,” said Joe Emerson, who led the project. He has been a church member since 1995 and is currently a lay leader at the church. “For the first year, I’m proud of it.”

The idea for the garden began last fall.

“We started working on ideas to get new groups to the church and offer new things to the community and encourage people to participate in groups that they have a love for,” Emerson said. “I love gardening. It’s a lot of work.”

Emerson said nearly a dozen people work the nine 15-by-15-foot plots, which are separated with walkways.

“We have more coming on. We are just getting organized,” Emerson said. “We have in our vision a community garden and memorial orchard.”

Emerson’s personal plot has broccoli, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and peppers.

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Yellow squash is just one of the many vegetables thriving in the first season garden at First United Methodist Church of Krum.

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In addition to the individual plots, two larger areas are set aside for church members who can harvest onions, lettuce, radishes, okra and black-eyed peas. Three dozen thornless blackberry plants grow along a fence line.

“I will not use pesticides or herbicides. We’re trying to go entirely organic,” said Emerson, who was raised on a cotton farm in West Texas. “I don’t remember ever having commercial fertilizers, and we had beautiful gardens. We use our backs and hoes.”

“A bunch of us are gardeners in the church,” said the Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas of First United Methodist Church of Krum. “People like to get their hands dirty — it’s good for us. I work out the kinks in my soul by gardening — I find it wonderfully therapeutic.”

Produce from the garden is being served at the churches’ Logos program — a weekly dinner for children and their parents, which is open to everyone in the community. Children learn manners, have Bible study and play.

“We wanted to help furnish food for that meal,” Emerson said.

For the last few weeks, they have, harvesting lettuce and other fresh vegetables.

“They are so excited, they can hardly stand it,” Thomas said. “We teach the children to eat healthy — straight from the garden. There is just tons of excitement.”

LORI FORGAY can be reached at 940-566-6845. Her e-mail address is lforgay@dentonrc.com .

* First United Methodist Church of Krum, 1001 E. McCart St., 940-482-3482

* Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 2121 E. University Drive, 940-387-1984