Pumpkin patches are a tradition during the fall and locally one of the places that have been holding one for a long time is Lord of Life Lutheran Church, which kicked off its 25th “Great Pumpkin Patch” on October 13 and it will be open through Halloween.
This time of year, the front lawn of the church, which is located at 276 Roscoe Blvd. N. is covered with hundreds of pumpkins in many colors and sizes along with mini pumpkins and gourds, the church also offers jams, pickles, and baked goods inside, including its famous pumpkin pies that are baked onsite with pureed pumpkin fresh from the patch itself.
The “Great Pumpkin Patch” is open daily Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to dusk; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to dusk and Sundays from 11 a.m. to dusk.
Lord of Life will also hold a Family Fun Days weekend October 26 and 27 with tented areas for face painting, games, a bounce house, snow cone and popcorn machines, tractor rides and much more activities. Several areas will also be set up for taking selfies with the pumpkins.
“We love holding this event and have families who regularly come back year after year,” said Deb Nye, manager of the pumpkin patch. “We are lucky with our property that we can create a farm-like environment for the patch and our church was formerly a stable, adding to the rustic feel of this.”
This year the church will be donating a minimum of 10% of its net pumpkin sales to support Hurricane Helene and Milton needs through the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region.
The church sources the pumpkins from a Navajo Indian organization in New Mexico.
