The Community Farm at Chestnut Ridge is putting down roots! Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center is partnering with local rural churches, our traditional base of summer campers and retreat visitors, and new partners from around North Carolina and the country to develop The Community Farm at Chestnut Ridge.

The Farm will be a working multi-species community farm that will supply wholesome food for Chestnut Ridge, its visitors, and the local community in a manner that is sustainable over the long term and a teaching model for visitors to Chestnut Ridge.

The Community Farm provides a place for Christians to gather, learn, and participate in renewing kingdom practices, such as creation care and table fellowship. Serving as a community focal point, The Community Farm invites all into its work and bounty, in a context of sustained theological reflection on the Christian’s theological and practical engagement with the creation, particularly in this most essential and basic engagement, agriculture.

The key areas of focus for The Community Farm will be:

• A Church Sponsored Agriculture program in conjunction with local partner churches.
• Regular opportunities for practical theological education.
• Inclusion of The Community Farm into the after school, summer camping, and retreat programs of Chestnut Ridge.

Church Sponsored Agriculture

{mosimage}The Community Farm is partnering with the local rural churches, specifically Efland, Chestnut Ridge, and Union Grove United Methodist Churches and in theological and practical partnership with Anathoth Community Garden (a ministry of Cedar Grove United Methodist) to operate The Community Farm as a Church Sponsored Agriculture program. Through this program, members of partner churches will be invited into the work of The Community Farm in exchange for a working share of the farm’s fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meat. Partner churches will see that bounty in preparing wholesome locally grown food at church social functions as well as distribute that bounty through their traditional food pantry programs. In this manner, the ripple effects from The Community Farm will move beyond those church members that participate in The Community Farm directly, and will raise questions and invite conversation within the broader church and community about the story of this food and the agricultural and religious practices that produced it.

Practical Theological Education

Chestnut Ridge is developing programmatic offerings for the community and local churches, including Bible studies on creation care and weekend retreat programs to teach practical skills in conjunction with spiritual development (e.g. land in the Bible and beginner backyard composting). Scholarships to attend these programs will be provided for partner church members. With the support of Chestnut Ridge’s existing infrastructure, The Community Farm will offer the local Christian community education that is both practical and hands on, while at the same time theologically based.

Summer Camp & Retreat Programming

Chestnut Ridge is integrating The Community Farm into our summer camp and retreat programs. Summer campers and retreat visitors will be invited into the work and bounty of The Community Farm, the food from which will be served at communal meals in Chestnut Ridge’s dining hall. Food, Faith and Farming will continue to be our summer camp theme.