news-record.com

Surprising an experienced pastor can be tough, but members of the St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in High Point pulled it off this summer in their community garden project.

The Rev. Ken Kroohs helped plan the garden, but he didn’t know the church youth group, the Episcopal Youth Community, was building a 7-foot-tall scarecrow for the garden that looked just like him.

“This was a total surprise,” said Kroohs, who has been pastor 15 years.

Church members Patti Yeats and Denise Huffman helped the youngsters.

Yeats worked with the youth group in building the scarecrow and creating the head and face that looked very much like Kroohs.

Kroohs said when his granddaughter, Alyssa McClure, 5, saw the scarecrow, she exclaimed, “Grandpa!”

Huffman took the lead on the entire garden project, supervising the digging and planting.

Although the rain and sun have caused some facial features to fade, the hair, clergyman’s collar and glasses still show a close resemblance to the pastor.

The pastor is proud of the garden project for two other reasons.

First, all the vegetables grown are donated to the Food Ministry of the West End Ministries in High Point.

Second, the garden is being irrigated using only water from condensation from church air conditioners.

Kroohs has rigged up a system of hoses and buckets to collect several gallons each day, more than enough for the garden.

The garden has helped the church follow the biblical advice in the Book of Proverbs (22:9): “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”

People are still talking about the joke on the pastor, Kroohs said.

“Of course, now the congregational conversations are about how the scarecrow is better looking!” Kroohs said.

John V. McGinnis is a retired journalism professor and disabled veteran.