Koni Purscell, Church & Community Worker

Church and Community Renewal, Big Stone Gap District (Virginia)

Holston Conference, United Methodist Church

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Community and Garden

By Koni Purscell on 2/10/2012 2:52 PM

Building community, that’s what my work is all about.

The other day, during the Shepherd’s Staff Cooking Class, I shared lunch with several people who live in public housing, plus the University of Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent, plus the pastor and volunteers from the local United Methodist Church. That morning we learned how to prepare pork chops with rice and vegetables, and a Lazy-Dazie Oatmeal Cake. As we ate, we visited. Jeannie, the extension agent, talked about growing our own basil and oregano. Someone else mentioned that she grows vegetables in flower pots. Yet another person commented: “I wish we had a community garden here.”

My ears picked up! I have dreamed of community gardens. The joke, of course, is that I have never been a very successful gardener of any kind. But I have had the vision, and have hoped that someone else would catch it as well. Now, suddenly, here they were: the volunteer mentioning that she and another church member have talked about a community garden.

The goals:

Put community into the garden.
Provide a place for people to raise their own vegetables.
Provide a sense of community where little exists.

We pray that Christ can help us make an island of community in a place where people are afraid to go out because there are so many drugs. A refuge of hope. A sanctuary of fellowship. All in a garden, where life can bloom and bear fruit.

Starting small.

The Latest

Rev. Koni Purscell serves as a Church and Community Worker in Southwest Virginia, Church and Community Renewal, Big Stone Gap District.

“This project has a long history of direct help to people in need,” states Rev. Purscell. “When I arrived the project provided heat assistance, worked with food pantries and thrift stores, provided seeds so people could grow their own gardens, and provided Christmas gifts for over 500 families. I was taken with the General Boards priority of ‘Ministry WITH the poor,’ and have been experimenting with taking the next step in an already strong project,” she continued.

The next step includes Shepherd’s Staff Cooking Class that emphasizes simple, healthy, economical eating. Out of one of these classes has grown interest in a community garden.

Born in central Iowa, Koni holds a BA from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa; an M. Div. from Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis IN; and an M. A. in educational psychology and counseling from University of South Dakota. Prior to becoming a Church and Community Worker, she served rural congregation, and worked as a home-based counselor. She comes to the mountains of Virginia from the Nebraska Rural Ministry Project in Northeastern Nebraska, where she was Church and Community Worker for 10 years.

Koni and Rev. Kenneth Purscell have been married for over 30 years. Their young adult daughters are pursuing their love of music: Kendra as a music educator and Karli as a music therapist.

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