J.R. Briggs

Lansdale Farmers Market :: a missional expression

July 15, 2009

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“When you plant a church don’t try to build a great church; instead, try to build a great city. Because when you have a great city, you’ll have a great church.” -Tim Keller

Saturday morning July 4th was Lansdale’s first ever Farmers Market. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to personally walk around and observe all that was happening. Fresh fruits and vegetables. Artisan bread from a local bakery. Organic coffee brewed locally. Live music. Neighbors giving handshakes and hugs. Children being pushed my parents in strollers.  It truly was community at work.

It was almost a year in the making…

Last summer I sat on the back patio of a borough council member’s house asking questions, attempting to learn about the DNA of the community, its needs and its personality. As we drank Cokes and talked, I broke in: “Renew is here to serve the community – to be an ally and an advocate. And we’re asking the question, ‘How can we bless the neighborhood?’ Would a farmer’s market be one way that would really serve Lansdale well?” I threw out other suggestions during that meeting as well, like starting a community garden (which we’ve started as well), having a centralized recycling program in the borough, volunteering at the newly re-developed Center for the Performing Arts, etc) but the farmers market idea was received with the most enthusiasm.

There are an estimated 65 farmers markets that happen in the city of Philadelphia on any given weekend in the summer (and that’s a conservative number). The state of Pennsylvania has rich farm land and is one of the top states for producing sustainable agriculture. Needless to say, farmers markets are a big deal in Pennsylvania. But so is the need in Lansdale to create a viable downtown area (which has been struggling for years and has been intensified in a sour economy) and to promote a sense of much-needed pride for the borough and an identity in something other than a major stop on the R5 SEPTA train route. (See the Wikipedia entry for Lansdale here). The excitement for a farmers market in Lansdale loomed large and we got the green light to proceed forward. And we were off to the races…

The best part about all of this is after that first initial meeting, I was officially out of the loop. I had no further responsibilities and never attended an official meeting. Others on the launch team of Renew saw this as a significant opportunity and took ownership of it. Bill Stevens spearheaded the operation early and eventually passed it off to Brooke Wasser, the Market manager. For months there were meetings with potential vendors, with borough council, with the community and with people who wanted to volunteer (who were both from Renew and from the local community). A website was created. Subsequent visits were made to the farms of potential vendors. Hundreds of calls were made. A sizeable grant was applied for – and received – from the North Penn Community Health Foundation. We partnered with The Food Trust of Philadelphia to consult us on how to pull off something like this.

I’m a visionary. That’s my strength. But my weakness is my inability at connecting Point A to Point B with some of these big, passionate plans. Had it not been for Bill, Brooke and the dozens of volunteers in the communtiy who have servant hearts and who are good at getting things done, this would have remained in some file folder in my desk drawer in my office. (By the way, if you’d like to volunteer for the market there are plenty of opportunities and if you are a vendor looking to sell at the LFM check out the website). You can also follow us on Twitter. It’s these people who deserve a hearty pat on the back for the months and months and months of hard work to see this vision become a reality.

In the first two weeks, the Lansdale Farmers Market, held at Railroad Plaza next to the train station from 9 am to 1 pm, has been a success. So many people showed up the first Saturday morning two weeks ago that vendors started selling out of their goods at about 10 am. Several had to return to their farm multiple times to pick more produce. It was estimated 1,000 people came through the market. And this past Saturday was fantastic as well. A few vendors sold out again…

Many have asked us the question: why would a church spend so much time doing this? Because we want to bless the neighborhood. We want to be an ally and an advocate for our community. We want to earn the right to be heard. We want to serve before we speak. We show up and ask the missional question: How can we help? – then shut up and listen to their answer…and then do it. We want to gain trust. In times of emergency we want to earn the right that so that one of the first thoughts that run through the minds of emergency personnel and government officials is “I wonder if Renew could help us out right now…” We’ve operated under the challenge that if Renew ever had to shut its doors would the community mourn (or would they even notice at all)? We believe our efforts are moving in that direction. The old adage remains true: people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We serve to follow the example of the Great Servant himself. If Jesus lived in Lansdale in 2009 we think he would want to pull off something like this.

But as great as the Farmers Market is, the truth is this: Farmers Markets don’t save people or communities. Jesus does. We’re committed to that at Renew. Unabashedly, we are a Jesus community. We’re attempting to be a faith community that attempts to pay attention to God and learn to respond appropriately. But its important to know that we refuse to hand out tracts at the market, stand up with a bullhorn and preach loudly on the corner as people come and go. Instead, we’re being intentional in subtle yet significant relationships that have been and are being established, bridges that are being built and conversations we’re finding ourselves engaged in with people who would never give a rip about what we say, think, feel or believe otherwise. We are convinced that putting a nice marquee outside a building that says, “Everyone welcome!” won’t draw in people that are intrigued by the person of Jesus, but turned off (and in many ways, rightfully so) by all the religious baggage that they carry.

Why do we do this? To build bridges for relationships and to be an ally and an advocate.

Now that the Farmers Market is up and running, the wheels are already beginning to turn in my head: What other needs exist in our community that we could help meet?What are other ways we could serve Lansdale and bless the neighborhood?

What about you?

What are the needs in your community? If you could snap your fingers and change three things about your city what would it be? (If you don’t know the needs of your community, who could you ask?) How can your local faith community be an advocate and an ally for your community? How can you ask the question with credibility, “How can we help?” What would it look like to earn the trust of local officials and community leaders? How are you blessing the neighborhood?

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