First Apple in Community Orchard

In 2024, Main Street United Methodist Church planted a community orchard along Washington Street. Six heritage apple trees, selected especially for the site by Patrick Gibson of Heritage Farm and Fruit Trees in Godfrey, were planted with a simple hope: to grow something good that could be freely shared with our neighbors.

The trees were chosen to ripen at different times, providing fresh fruit from mid-summer through frost—roughly July through November. And because the orchard grows right alongside the Washington Street sidewalk, anyone walking by can stop, pick a ripe apple, and enjoy a fresh snack.

Now, during its third summer, the orchard has produced its first apple!

That first apple is a joyful sign of hope unfolding in the orchard. The young trees are taking root, growing stronger, and beginning to bear fruit. As the trees mature, each season will bring a more abundant harvest and more fresh fruit to share with our neighbors. And the orchard isn't only a place to visit at harvest time—in spring, stop by and enjoy the sweet fragrance of apple trees filled with blossoms.

The Community Orchard is one small way Main Street UMC is sharing the gifts entrusted to us with the community around us. Sometimes ministry looks like worship, prayer, or service. And sometimes it looks like planting a tree beside a sidewalk—and waiting patiently for the first apple.