Heritage Church Hosts First Annual Pumpkin Patch
Oct. 30, 2009
The front yard of Heritage Church (Bettendorf campus) in Bettendorf, Iowa, has temporarily turned orange.
The Wesleyan church's first annual pumpkin patch began on October 12 with 2,500 pumpkins setting in the yard, beckoning community members to stop and purchase the seasonal item that is the epitome of fall.
Heritage Church has partnered with a North Carolina company that supplies pumpkins for organizations (mainly churches) so both entities gain a profit. Proceeds from this year's pumpkin sales will fund guest tickets for Heritage's annual Creative Christmas program in December.
More than 200 volunteers from Heritage have staffed the pumpkin patch, which is open to the Bettendorf community every day until October 31.
"The purpose of our pumpkin patch has been to provide service to our community and build relationships," says Mitch Cartrette, Betterndorf campus pastor.
Eric Mills, Global Outreach Pastor at Heritage's main campus in Rock Island, Illinois, originally envisioned the idea. So congregants and staff members handed out 5,000 postcards within a two-mile radius of the church that announced the event. An additional 2,000 postcards were handed out at a later time.
The church will wrap up the pumpkin patch with a block party on Saturday night on its' property. The free event will feature live music, inflatable games, face and pumpkin painting and more.
Visit the Heritage Church Pumpkin Patch site for more information.
