Senior United Memphis Sowers (SUMS)

This ministry focuses on growing vegetables through gardening. Produce is distributed to feed the hungry through a network of food pantries and soup kitchens. Workers include senior volunteers, student interns, families, and other volunteers. Large and small garden plots in a variety of locations are our field of work during the two seasons, March-September, and a second “winter season, October-December.

In April 2026, UMNCM received a $10,000.00 matching Grant from ENCORE Ministries of Nashville. Locally raised funds will enable a $20,000.00 first year budget for SUMS. ENCORE is a fellow covenant entity with UMNCM and others affiliated with the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church. To volunteer and/or donate, call Connector Dr. Mark Matheny at (901) 428-4633 or email memtheny@gmail.com.

James and Dorothy Lawson Nonviolence Program

The James and Dorothy Lawson Program and Children’s Camp, “A Walk Into Nonviolence,” will be introduced to children so that they gain an understanding of living without violence and building what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “Beloved Community.”