Vegetables

Justin Walsh did not have much use for the church or organized religion while he was growing up, other than going to church on holidays with his grandparents. As a young adult, he was turned off by a church of “fire and brimstone,” and began putting faith in himself and his own ability to make things happen.

​Justin’s thinking about the church changed when he and his wife Jennifer were preparing to have a child. He wanted to better understand why people would put their faith in something bigger than themselves.

Justin began visiting Christ the King after his daughter Lilly was born. He remembered the sense of community he had experienced at Christ the King when he came as a child with his grandparents, Tom and Chris Kinnaman, and was seeking that kind of community again.

Justin was drawn to the Community Harvest Garden. “I met Ramona Burns who oversees the Garden. I really felt the community that was being built there, and I could see the impact they were having. I wanted that for Lilly in her life.” He volunteered in the Garden, helping to grow vegetables both for his family and the hungry in the community. This transformed his thinking about the church.

He is now amazed at the impact that Christ the King is having on the community and on his family. “When I come to CTK, I can see the love and care that go into everything we do here: the sermon, worship, the Community Harvest Garden, even the work that the church council does. It inspires me and keeps me involved.”
​Justin now uses his gifts as the Elder of Stewardship at Christ the King. “I want people to see faith as something that is lived in community - instead of thinking only of ‘what my faith can do for me,’ to begin thinking about what it can do for others.” He is looking forward to another planting season in the Community Harvest Garden.