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Christian camp revived as 'learning farm'
ASHLAND CITY, Tennessee (AP) -- The Rev. Thomas Henderson absently kicked around a pile of dirt near a row of squash plants at Camp Dogwood, seeing a treasure trove of valuable lessons where others see an acre of farmland. "The soil teaches us the greatest lessons in life," he said. "It will hold you accountable. It teaches that there are certain things that happen that are beyond your control. It also teaches that you plant, and you reap. "It's those great lessons in life that a lot of people have missed because we're now two and three generations removed from an agrarian background." Henderson, 48, a United Methodist minister who grew up farming at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is in charge of reviving the long-dormant Methodist camp, once the only place near Nashville, Tennessee, where black children could enjoy summer camp. Using volunteer help from church youth groups, he is farming one of its 276 acres, with plans for quick expansion. His goals are lofty. Henderson thinks Camp Dogwood can fight prejudice, bring nutritious produce to neglected neighborhoods, prepare poor youths for careers, and on a small scale, buck the globalization of the food industry. And in the spirit of the Camp Dogwood that existed for half a century, he wants volunteers to have fun after a few hours of work at the camp's swimming pool, hiking trails and picnic areas. If it works, he hopes Camp Dogwood will be a national model for land the Methodists own across the country. On a recent afternoon, a busload of black children from inner-city Nashville pulled up, ready to start work alongside a white youth group on a missions trip from Red Bridge United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. "It looks like the weeds have all been pulled," 12-year-old Rivera Peoples said to Henderson, angling for a better job. "Ah," Henderson kindly responded. "The weeds are never all pulled." 'Food security'
Camp Dogwood was established in the late 1920s after the land about 20 miles northwest of Nashville was donated to the United Methodist church, Henderson said. It's leased by the women's division of the church -- which operates its General Conference office in Nashville -- to Bethlehem Centers for $1 a year. The Bethlehem Centers, which provide services to Nashville's inner-city poor, shut down most camp operations three decades ago because of financial difficulties. After a fire at the center's Nashville gymnasium, there wasn't enough money to both rebuild and keep Camp Dogwood going, said Joyce Searcy, president and CEO of Bethlehem Centers. Henderson said the revival of the camp centers on bringing "food security" to poor neighborhoods while helping farmers survive. "I believe that sustainability will be the theological issue of this century," Henderson said. "We spend eight kilocalories of fossil fuel to produce one calorie of food in this country. The average age of the American farmer is now 62 years old. The average farmer gets 12 cents of a consumer's food dollar."
Camp Dogwood sells its products at summer farmer's markets set up at churches, and other farmers are welcome to join in. That gets the farmers up to 80 cents of the food dollar and gets nutritious foods to neighborhoods served only by drive-in markets and fast food joints. If food sales make the camp self-sufficient, Henderson would like to start processing some foods, beginning with salsa, next year. "I have a long-range goal of seven years to have a Dogwood School of the Culinary Arts for underserved communities to come and learn the restaurant business," he said. "We'd love a fine furniture maker to come in and set up shop, mentor some young people in the trade, and direct-market to affluent churches." But for now, it's all about the soil. "The soil is the only place that I know where everybody's on the same playing field," Henderson said. "It doesn't give a flying rip if you're white, black, rich, poor, young, old, Hispanic, Asian, gay, straight -- it doesn't care." Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The soil is the only place that I know where everybody's on the same playing field. 
