“We want to reach out to people in the community. This is our tenth annual Pumpkin Patch that happens throughout the month of October,” said Rev. Quaya Ackerman, pastor at Rapid Valley United Methodist Church, on the eastern edge of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Rapid Valley UMC kicked-off their Pumpkin Patch with the Harvest Festival on October 7.

“We have hayrides, horse rides, and of course the Pumpkin Patch,” said Pastor Quaya. “We also had a country store with lots of baked goods. For the kiddos there was a bouncy house and face painting. There were even special guests from the Rapid City Humane Society and the Raptor Center.”

Harvest Festival

Everything but the altar was pushed aside to make room in the sanctuary for the thousands of items at the Rapid Valley UMC rummage sale last Saturday. Photos by Dave Stucke, Dakotas UMC Communications.

About 500 people from the area attended the Harvest Festival this year. The event just keeps growing. New this year was a little petting zoo. Families and kids were excited to see  goats and fancy chickens, provided by Jessica Gaudino and her sons Josh, Caleb, and Noah.

“We’ve had the Raptor Center here before, this year they were back after a few years,” said Ruth Nix, a RVUMC member. Ruth willingly donates her time making sure the kitchen, country store, and bake sales feed the visitors and sends home lots of treats.

There is no charge for the activities at the Harvest Festival. The event lives from the spirit of the congregation, which is inspiring for the community. Volunteers working the events are tireless, hosting the Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch events in addition to regular ministry activities where the lay people serve monthly.

Pumpkins were ready for families to buy when their kids were finished with the Pumpkin Patch activities.

Pumpkin Patch

A special outreach for the church members is the annual Pumpkin Patch every October. It is packed with activities for young visitors and their families. Seven days a week, the pumpkin patch offers something for everyone.

“We give them little pumpkins to take home and paint or whatever they want to do with those,” said Georgia Walker, church secretary, member, and volunteer. “It's all free. We love the little kids!”

Daily story time amongst the haybales and hundreds of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch is a big hit with daycare and preschool children in Rapid City. The Pumpkin Patch activities are especially appreciated by the staff and children from Youth and Family Services’ daycare, a center focusing on the unique needs of low-income families. Pumpkin patch volunteers read a story related to pumpkins for the group. An estimated 400-500 children have visited the Pumpkin Patch this year. There are 100 more children registered to visit.

Sue Burnham, a member of Rapid Valley UMC who helps coordinate the Pumpkin Patch and reads most of the story time books, said, “The children are very lovable. They get off their bus, run over, and give you a hug. My husband does the hayrides. He loads them all on the wagon. As he stands by the hayride talking over the children, a little one came over and just put his hands on Lonnie's face. He just wanted to hug Lonnie. They're just very lovable, enjoyable children.”

Burnham explains the details of the childrens' visit. “We invite daycare and preschools to bring the kids to the pumpkin patch. We gather in the church and read a story about pumpkins. We go on a hayride and look at all the beautiful decorations. Then we head back to the church for a snack­— decorated cookies. Then each child goes out and selects a mini pumpkin to bring home."

Georgia Walker said the activities are having an impact on people across the area. “I had a phone call yesterday from the director at the Youth and Family Services daycare program. She said, ‘I just need to tell you that our children are still talking about the Pumpkin Patch. It's kids that came two weeks ago and they're still talking about it!’ How marvelous is that, to put that joy in those kids' minds. It's been great. It's just rewarding. I think that's what drives us with the Pumpkin Patch– we use it as an outreach.”
 

A large map poster was necessary to navigate the re-arranged sanctuary, which hosted this large rummage sale.

Rummage Sale

Rapid Valley United Methodist Church also held a rummage sale, serving breakfast burritos and caramel rolls. Folks came from all over town to look over the items the church collected. You could find almost anything at the rummage sale from clothing to kitchen wares. An estimated 250 people came for this year’s event that started at 8 a.m. Some customers lined up at 7:30 a.m. on a cool fall morning to wait for the doors to open. The multi-purpose sanctuary was cleared of chairs. Folding tables were set up throughout the room. A large poster at the door displayed a map of where to find certain items, crafts vendors, and the popular breakfast bar and bake sale.
 

Ruth Nix, who manages the food service operations, said this rummage sale was bigger than past events. “The rummage sale alone netted over $1,000. More funds were collected at the bake sale and kitchen pantry, where cinnamon rolls and breakfast burritos were sold,” she said.

Georgia Walker was working the cash register at the semiannual rummage sale, stated the income from the sale funds mission projects throughout the year. “We're quite a mission minded church. We serve meals at the Cornerstone Mission five times a year. We have a sandwich ministry once a month—we make about 200 sandwiches and give them to the homeless. Sometimes we take sanwhiches to the Hope Center. We make health kits for the Red Cross twice a year. We provide school supplies for the schools in our area. We really do a lot of mission work.”
 

Four of the many members who make the Pumpkin Patch such a success are, l-r, Deb Densmore, Sue Burnham, Lonnie Burnham, and Ruth Nix, all of Rapid Valley UMC.

Rapid Valley UMC is all about welcoming folks to their community of Christian faith. Tamara Sime, although working full-time for the South Dakota National Guard, somehow finds time to manage the Pumpkin Patch, along with support from her husband Brian, and their energetic dog, Daisy.

“We got married here and we started volunteering with numerous things. When they realized I love to volunteer, well, I got hooked up real quick,” Tamara said. “We've been volunteering with the Pumpkin Patch for probably 10 years now. We have had people who have come to the Pumpkin Patch and then worship at the church. Every year there's a God moment when pumpkins are delivered and so many of our church members show up to unload and work at the Pumkin Patch. It's just an amazing thing. So many people have come to the Pumpkin Patch. We hand out a pamphlet about Rapid Valley UMC. It brings people to this church and that's the biggest thing, I think.”

Pastor Quaya and Sue Burnham were invited to an interview on a local TV channel, KOTA. They brought the host some Halloween cookies from the church kitchen and shared the news about not just the popular Pumpkin Patch, but also the Harvest Festival, the Rummage Sale, and the upcoming Turkey Dinner.

Tamara Sime said the Pumpkin Patch and Rapid Valley UMC have been a blessing to her family and their faith walk. “This church has overall just grown our faith, and not just in God, but in each other. It brings you closer to each other, to the church– we're blessed here. I can't even begin to tell you how blessed we are being here. This church is a small community. It's a special church. It's an old-fashioned country church. That's what brought me here because that's how I grew up. Overall it's just an amazing environment.”

The Pumpkin Patch will end in October, but Rapid Valley UMC will continue fall activities with a turkey dinner and silent auction on November 5, 2023.

Laypersons are the heart of The United Methodist Church. Our dedication to lay-led congregations is what John Wesley preached, and what gives us our church one of its unique foundations. If you are feeling called to serve as a layperson with the United Methodist Church, we invite you to explore your vocation by visiting  the Dakotas Conference website and by talking to your pastor.