Anathoth is different than other community gardens. We don’t have individual plots that people work on their own. Instead all of our work is shared. We believe that growing food together is good for the health of our community. We learn and practice teamwork, patience, generosity and good listening skills from working side-by-side. Growing community is just as important as growing lettuce, strawberries or tomatoes. Eating together twice a week is an important part of our community, too. During our growing season, we eat together every Saturday at noon, sharing a potluck meal, and every Tuesday evening at 6pm.

Becoming a member is easy! This year there are no dues or required hours. Click on the link to fill out a form: 2012 Membership Form and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or PO Box #138, Cedar Grove, NC 27231.

Join us for workshops, events or workdays every Saturday 9-12pm and Tuesday (beginning the first week of May)!

by Fred Bahnson & Rich Church

In the beginning, humans ate, and in the beginning, Christianity was about eating. These simple facts are at the heart of Anathoth Community Garden. Eating matters, profoundly, to the life of Christian discipleship. As theologian Alexander Schmemann notes, “[T]he Bible . . . begins with man as a hungry being, with the man who is that which he eats.”

This is because the life of faith is embodied and, in fact, demands formation of the body through the formation of godly habits. In other words, it is the activity of our bodies that forms our hearts and minds into the people of God. The sacramental life of the church--anchored around the communion meal--is the best evidence of this truth.

It is not surprising then that along with circumcision, the first question upon which the early church opined was what Christians should eat. The early church knew that we are—and become—what we eat. As such, eating meat offered to idols was taboo for the early church.

The discernment required of the Acts community is no less relevant to the church today, which must continue to discern--“What food has been offered to idols?”--be they Canaanite idols of old or the modern idols of the industrial farm economy. The task remains for us to take account of our eating habits and their connection to Christian discipleship.

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