Healthy Harvest Ministries!

Our Vision is to see the Edgewood Free Methodist Church manifest an active faith resulting in a holistic transformation of the Healthy Harvest Community.

So what is the Healthy Harvest community? Our church has felt God leading us for a number of years to a specific area in the downtown Rochester area; reaching the people of that community by meeting their spiritual, physical and academic needs. As it is written in Deuteronomy 15:11- “Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” We believe that God has some great plans for the people of Rochester and we want to be a part of what God is doing in an active way! Here are some of the ways we are involved…

School 19: Bible Club

Our church has a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus to elementary age children at School 19 located on Seward Street. The Bible Club meets after school on Thursday afternoons from 3:30- 5pm. Our focus is to not only talk about Jesus’ love but to show it through the small group mentoring times. The children also enjoy a large group Bible story, song time, and game time. If you are interested in being one of the lead teachers, or small group mentors we would love to have you use your gifts for the city. We also have others areas where people can use their gifts such as shopping at the grocery store for healthy snacks or people who love photography to take photos of the children! If you are interested in helping in any of these ways be sure to contact Kim Roth at [email protected].

Tutoring Program

The Harvest Time Tutoring Program is an after-school program that bridges learning between school and home for students in K-10th grade. Children learn through games, stories, reading, and math activities and life skills under the supervision of educators and community volunteers. The tutoring sessions take place Monday and Wednesdays from 4 to 5pm at Harvest Time Sanctuary located at 1175 Plymouth Ave. S. Rochester, New York 14611. If you are interested in being one of our tutors please email Andrea Cutt at [email protected].

Hydroponics Harvest Time Ministries has also worked hard to provide healthy food for the community. Right now someone from Harvest Time monitors the hydroponics in the basement of Harvest Time Sanctuary. It is a small project which is harvested every 4-6 weeks. The produce is given to needy members of the church or others in need in the community. It is a demonstration project that we hope to expand to a sufficient capacity such that it could employ members of the community.

Jefferson Family Medicine Jefferson Family Medicine is a doctor’s office that serves low-income families. Dr. Bayer and Dr. Brown our both members of our church who have partnered with Edgewood to see holistic change in the community. Jefferson Family Medicine has helped to reduce the cost (along with Edgewood) for low-income families to receive a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis. The doctor’s office has also built gardens in the backyards of families who own a home in the city, allowing them to grow their own fresh produce.

“What the world needs are people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but enacting it now.” - Shane Claiborne