Rev. Anna Woofenden (she/her/hers) is the founding pastor of the Garden Church and Feed and Be Fed Farm in San Pedro California, re-imagining church as an interconnected organism, worshiping, loving and serving together while transforming a plot of land into a vibrant urban farm and sanctuary. Through this process, she has become a leading voice in the food and faith movement, particularly in the area of liturgy and innovative ministry.
At the end of 2017 Anna transitioned the Garden Church to new leadership and has served as the Transition Pastor at Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsfield, and the Protestant Chaplain at Amherst College. She has now found her new home as the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Northampton MA, where she is delighted to explore what it means to be church with a faithful and justice-seeking community. She is the founder and co-host of the Food and Faith Podcast, the author of This is God’s Table: Finding Church Beyond the Walls , and has written for various publications including Christian Century magazine.
Anna grew up in the San Juan Islands in Washington State, has lived around the country and traveled throughout the world, and is always glad to come back to the Pacific Ocean. Anna is now based in Easthampton, MA with her husband David and their beloved daughter. She enjoys nature, gardening, art, children, writing, community, singing, laughter, and a good cup of chai. She is passionate about spirituality, justice, food, the earth, beauty, compassion, community, and a calling to re-imagine church.
If you are close to giving up on the church, or if you, like Anna, feel
an irrepressible seed of hope for the church growing in you, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. When you come. to this sentence late in the book, you’ll dare to believe that it is actually true: ‘God is making church all over the place, beyond the walls, on the streets, in the soil, and around the table.’ And even more—you’ll want to be part of the buzzing, colorful, nourishing garden that God is growing wherever there are willing gardeners to join in the fun.”
—BRIAN D. MCLAREN, speaker, activist, and author of The Great Spiritual