Yes, we Methodists like our pumpkin pie. Check out this blurb from United Methodist News Service:
A UMNS Feature
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Oct. 27, 2009
What’s orange and round, grows on the ground and for one month a year is worth a few million bucks?
If you live near a United Methodist church that turns into a Halloween wonderland every October, you know the answer: pumpkins.
For 684 of those churches, the only place to get the magical gourds are from Pumpkin Patch USA. Grown on a Navajo reservation in Farmington, N.M., the pumpkins are sowed and reaped with tender loving care by the Pumpkin Man, Richard Hamby, and his loyal crew.
More than 5 million pumpkins were plucked from their warm, green New Mexico homes this year. The 1,300 church and civic organizations that sell them will probably make around $4 million because, Hamby said, “This was a really good year.”
United Methodist churches sell the pumpkins so youth can go on mission and choir trips, houses can be built for Habitat for Humanity and people in need can be fed and clothed.
Hamby and his wife started growing and selling pumpkins over 30 years ago. After a few set backs they ended up in New Mexico, which as it turns out, has the perfect conditions for growing miles and miles of pumpkins.
Pumpkin harvesters toss the gourds into the back of an 18-wheel truck to be delivered to churches and civic organizations in 41 states.
Hamby said he never wanted to sell his pumpkins to commercial outlets. United Methodists were his first and most loyal customers but he also supplies other denominations and civic groups.
“This has been a really good season for our partners,” he said. During the peak picking time 70 18-wheel trucks drove up to the farm daily and left with loads of pumpkins which were delivered to 41 states.
The secret to a successful sale is in the coordinators who work long, hard hours during October, Hamby said. Another piece of the puzzle is churches who work on their “curb appeal,” he added.
Oceans of pumpkins
“This is a big outreach for us,” she said. It is also something the entire community has come to expect. The patch features an outdoor classroom and more than 2,800 schoolchildren have been to the church since their patch opened Oct. 1.
“It’s amazing, people start calling in July to reserve a spot for their school group,” Cooper said. In addition to an ocean of pumpkins, the church has a huge maze, which the youth design and build every year, and a smaller maze made out of hay bails for toddlers.
The outdoor classroom has curriculum designed for preschoolers through 5th grade. On the weekends they sponsor car shows, craft fairs, fun runs and other activities designed to provide a fun, safe and free place for families to come and “enjoy a beautiful fall day,” Cooper said.
Sanlando United Methodist Church in Longwood Fla., has had a pumpkin patch every year for the past 15 years. They have many repeat customers and hold a fall festive during one weekend in October for the community.
“We probably have from 5,000 to 6,000 people come through, it is a huge outreach program for our church,” said Gayle Hamilton, pumpkin coordinator. “It’s probably the biggest ‘in-reach’ program we have all year because it is an awesome way to build relationships.”
Pumpkins and sugar cookies
Congress Street United Methodist Church, Lafayette, Ind., has also had a pumpkin patch for the past six years and this year has a goal of raising $8,000 for three charities supported by the church. Congress Street also converts a garage into “Hughes’ Barn” and sells homemade goodies and crafts.
Patsy Krieg, pumpkin coordinator for the church, said the members bake about 600 dozen sugar cookies decorated with orange and white smiley faces to sell in the barn.
“We are known as the pumpkin and sugar cookie church,” she said.
Other homemade goodies include pumpkin bread, pumpkin rolls, noodles, salsa, pickles, jams and candy. The money from the store goes to the church’s general fund but all the proceeds from the pumpkins go to a domestic violence program at the local YWCA, a drug rehab program and to local food pantries. The church also asks for donations of dog and cat food to give to local animal shelters.
Krieg said it takes “the whole congregation” to run the pumpkin patch from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. She says it has been especially cold and rainy this year but everyone just “huddles around a heater.”
“The pumpkins have been extra beautiful this year,” she added.
At Owasso United Methodist Church, the members of the congregation who help keep the pumpkin patch open and running every day are called servants, not volunteers, Cooper said.
“It takes hundreds of servants to run it. Our hope is that people feel God’s love while they are here.”
* Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.
****Set on a “gorgeous piece of land” near a lake and visible from the highway, the Pumpkin Patch for Missions at Owasso (Okla.) United Methodist Church brings in thousands of people, said Carol Cooper, director of youth ministries at Owasso. She has been coordinating the month-long fundraiser since it started in 2001. A UMNS photo by Buffy Boatman.
