Summerville United Methodist is prepared for pumpkin season

The pumpkin patch at Summerville United Methodist Church in Phenix City is about more than raising money.

It is about bringing people together.

"The church exists in the community to serve the people who live here and to provide an opportunity to build relationships," said the Rev. Brady Baird, pastor at the church.

Summerville is doing just that by having people come and spend quality time around pumpkins.

And each Saturday in October, the church is hosting a fall festival.

The pumpkin patch opened Oct. 1 in the church's parking lot on 32nd Street.

It is open every day until Oct. 31.

The pumpkins were purchased from a Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico.

"They traveled a long way," Baird said.

On Sept. 20, church members came together for about two hours to move 1,110 pumpkins from the inside of a tractor-trailer onto the back of pickup trucks. Baird laughed and said he was still sore a week later.

This is the second year for the pumpkin patch at the church, which was established in 1954. It is also Baird's second year at the church, having come from Jackson, Ala.

Baird said families can come to spend time at the patch and take photographs. There is a scarecrow sitting on bales of hay that is ideal for photos. For additional fun, there is a hay bale maze.

Money raised from the sale of pumpkins goes to support the youth at the church.

"One woman came in and bought some she painted pink for breast cancer awareness," said Jerry Knupp, a retired salesman and a church member for about 35 years.

Knupp is among those spending time overseeing the patch.

"There are a lot of uses for the pumpkins," he said.

Crafts, such as a large turkey made out of a pumpkin, sit on a table at the pumpkin patch.

One afternoon this week, Knupp suggested to Baird that if things go well this year, the church could try something similar to the pumpkin patch but with watermelons or pecans.

Baird just smiled.

While the patch is open from 1 to 8 p.m. through the week, Saturdays are special. A festival featuring inflatables, a bean bag toss, pumpkin painting and other activities is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Today will be particularly special with festivities beginning at 8 a.m.

Crafts, baked goods, fruit preserves and yard decorations will be for sale.

"It is an opportunity to be outside with the family and have fun at no cost," Baird said. "It is also a chance to connect with other families."

Baird said school groups wishing to tour the pumpkin patch in the morning should call the church at 334-297-5696 to set up an appointment.

"We love to have them," he said.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Summerville United Methodist is prepared for pumpkin season ."