Isaiah 55 Farm Stand

“Come, buy and eat… without money and without price… Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

Isaiah 55:1-2

After much prayer and conversation with our community, we have discerned that instead of a CSA subscription-box program, we would like to pilot a pay-what-you-can-afford farm stand on Sunday after each of the three church services (English, Arabic and Swahili), which will run from late March through the end of July.

Why are we doing a weekly Farm Stand?

The Lord has shown us how greatly He worked through the Free Farmers Market to create an atmosphere of joy and abundance. That market trained us to think of everything that we grow as sheer gift from Him, to be gifted to others. We wanted to find a way to have this same theological tone for the way we distribute produce and flowers to our members at Redeemer. We also want to make sure that every family and individual in our congregation can eat from our shared land without financial barrier. We believe this move will be beneficial for our whole community, and will take some pressure off of our farm team .

We long for this Isaiah 55 Farm Stand to be so much more than just a way to share lettuce and tomatoes (though it will certainly do that). We want it to be a living sign that reminds us that Christ calls his church to eat together from his Creation in sacred ways, thinking of the eucharistic blessing every time we do, and to eat together in a way that everyone is nourished and blessed at his table. We want it to be a training tool for living radically and sharing our economic resources so that we can learn to rely directly on his provision and see that the Lord provides for us directly from His Creation. This is in step with the mission God has given us to be a place of hospitality and restoration.

The two primary texts inspiring this Farm Stand are Isaiah 55 and Acts 2. Both of these passages in Holy Scripture portray the vision of God’s open and abundant table where those who follow him are fed outside the normal economic system. Isaiah 55 was the inspiration for the Free Farmers Market, and is a vision of New Creation. Our mission is to be a “New Creation” project that gives a taste of Christ’s Kingdom banquet. We want want every parishioner and visitor to be able to eat from our land and experience and taste that the Lord is good, that He is the gift giver of all food. We want folks to get a foretaste of Heaven coming to earth when they bite into an heirloom tomato. Acts 2 reminds us that we are the family of God and we can share our resources in common. As we share this land in common, we want to eat from it in a way that breaks down all barriers of access and affordability.

How will it work?

From late March through July, we will have vegetables and flowers available on Sundays after each church service at Church of the Redeemer. Each unit of produce will have a market value of about $3, and we recommend paying anywhere from $0-$5 at our donations table. We pay according to our means that week, trusting that because the Lord has His hand in this, the farm will be supported financially and everyone who He ordains to eat from our land will be able to, with no financial barriers. We all share stewardship of this land, as it is the Lord who is its owner and Lord. When we eat from his land, it reminds us who our real Host is!

This is a great way to get produce for church potlucks, meal trains, neighbors in need, or to feed your family. Invite each other over for meals. Live into the Kingdom of God around your tables.

We also encourage you to bring reusable bags to cut down on plastic.

We had a Farm Town Hall where we talked about all of this in detail. Check out the recording!

Volunteer

We need volunteers to help run the stand every Sunday after our morning English service and after our services in Arabic and Swahili. We are building a Serving Team, much like others at Church of the Redeemer (such as music or hospitality) that will serve seasonally from late March-July.

If you would like to volunteer, even if it's just once or twice a season, please fill out this short form.