Access to food and the Church

The Embedded Church Podcast

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Pastor Cynthia Wallace about how the Oasis Farm and Fishery was implemented and is operating out of Bible Center Church in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Originally begun as an educational initiative to help families learn how to eat and cook healthier, the program has evolved into growing food for the local community. This work began as the church gained a deeper understanding of the food insecurity, or lack of access to food, that so many of the local neighborhood residents are facing.

Pastor Cynthia reminds us that listening to God and your neighbors is a vital part of recognizing what needs the local church is called to fulfill in the community. The process can be slow and full of small steps, but God has been faithful to expand the work of Bible Center Church in a well-timed and manageable way. The Oasis Farm and Fishery has been in operation for almost nine years, expanding to include gardening classes, cooking classes, farm stands, and vegetable box delivery in the community.

Eric and Sara Joy also speak with a couple of field guides who provide professional research expertise to expand upon the social and economic implications of food insecurity in our communities. Both Dr. Stephanie Boddie of Baylor University and Dr. Norman Wirzba of Duke University help us better understand the extent of how poor access to healthy food in our communities is detrimental to our well-being and contrary to the way God designed us to eat and enjoy food. Each of these field guides provides inspiring challenges to churches to be a light of the Gospel in their communities through growing and enjoying food together.

Episode Contributors

Cynthia Wallace is the Executive Pastor of Bible Center Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is also the Executive Director of the Oasis Project, which includes the Oasis Farm and Fishery.

Dr. Stephanie Clintonia Boddie is Assistant Professor of Church and Community Ministries with affiliations at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and the School of Education at Baylor University. Boddie is also a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society and an alumni fellow at the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program. Her research interests include Congregation-Based Social Surveys, Trends in Faith-Based Initiatives, and Social Entrepreneurial Approaches to Disparities in Wealth, Health, and Food Insecurity. She teaches a course entitled: Black Churches: Past, Present, and Future.

Dr. Norman Wirzba is Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University. His research and teaching interests are at the intersections of theology, philosophy, ecology, and agrarian and environmental studies. He has written several books including The Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity; Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating; This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World; and Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land (forthcoming).

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode. Sign up for the free online Community Forum on June 28, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

Oasis Farm and Fishery

Bible Center Church

Hope in Homewood – article about the Everyday Cafe run by Bible Center Church

Black Church Food Security Network

Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land (forthcoming) by Norman Wirzba

Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating by Norman Wirzba

This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World by Norman Wirzba

The Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity by Norman Wirzba

What’s Not to Like: All the Good Things that Happen in School Gardens (Tricia Elisara's Blog)

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

- Embodiment

- Food Desert

- Hospitality

- Localism

- Zoning

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative