St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Carrollton, affectionately known locally as the “pumpkin church,” this October celebrated the milestone 20th anniversary of its signature Pumpkin Patch fundraiser by breaking previous records.

The Pumpkin Patch has grown from a small fundraiser to a beloved community event. Initially started by parishioner and former youth minister Laura Lenaeus to support youth programs, it made St. Margaret’s a community hub in the heart of Carrollton, said the Very Rev. Jeff Jackson, rector of St. Margaret’s.

“I don’t know what the most we’ve ever raised was, but in each of the last few years, we’ve only raised about $3,000. And which, for the amount of time and the amount of effort it takes, it’s just not a lot.”

So, after hearing from several parish organizations and individuals about rethinking parish fundraising, Jackson thought it was time for a change in the way parish groups raised money.

“I went to all of these organizations in the church, and I just said, what if we were to capitalize on the fact that we are the pumpkin church in town and were to do a pumpkin festival. It would be a one day event. We could do live music, we could do barbecue, we could do, you know, baked goods, we could have activities for kids and all this stuff.”

With support for the idea from St. Margaret’s Vestry, Jackson recruited parishioner Diane Nivens, who has a background in fundraising, as chair of the effort and she “pulled this team of people together that represented all groups in the parish, and we just said let’s see what we can do.”

Five groups in the church participated.

“Children & Youth programs because that’s where it started, St. Margaret’s Community Outreach, because we never really have done a full on fundraiser for outreach, our really excellent music program, our (Episcopal Church Women) ECW, and our Brotherhood of St. Andrew.

“We divided the work amongst the various groups. Our Youth & Children’s programs, led by our Pastoral Assistant for Youth & Children, Amber Cotton, handled activities for families including a bouncy house, pumpkin decorating, a splash booth, and cotton candy. Amber also heads up the month-long pumpkin patch effort. Outreach and Episcopal Evangelism commissions did the advertising and helped with set up and sponsorships. ECW planned one big bake sale. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew’s served up the barbecue. Diane enlisted the musicians. The whole team worked on sponsorships and ticket sales. And volunteers from all around the church helped to pull everything off,” Jackson said.

The St. Margaret’s Pumpkin Patch Picking Festival – a play off the event’s pig, pumpkin, and music picking – has raised almost $20,000, and will know final numbers after the Patch closes on All Hallow’s Eve,” Jackson said October 23, 2024.

The biggest increase came from sponsorships by community partners – restaurants, doctors’ offices, construction companies, and even other nonprofit organizations. “One sponsor agreed to double whatever is earned from pumpkin sales, which with a week left, has already earned over $2000, which means over $4000 in pumpkin sales,” Jackson said.

“Even before the October 12th event we had already raised $12,000 just in sponsorships. And so, it was already a success before the day even started, which was awesome,” he said.

More than 300 people visited the church grounds with crowds peaking during lunch and late afternoon and “people at the event were saying y’all are doing this again next year, right?” Jackson said.

Jackson, who has served the parish for seven years, said what warmed his heart the most were newcomers and long-time parishioners alike enjoying the festivities. The collaborative effort fostered church unity, with all church groups working together to make the event a success, he said.

“It was wonderful, because everybody was just working together, and you would see the longtime members and the newer members doing stuff together. You would see youth and adults doing stuff together. And everybody had a wonderful time.”

Another benefit for the parish, with an average attendance of about 125 each Sunday, has been seeing some new faces in the congregation, he added.

“One of the other goals was let’s invite people and see who comes and if that translates into somebody new showing up on Sunday morning. Let’s invite people and then say, oh, yeah, by the way, our services are at 9 and 11 on Sunday,” Jackson said. Since the event he has seen couples in church who came to that event “who had never been to church with us before. So, I mean, not a huge influx, but a huge success. Having even one person show up because of that event make it successful to me.”

Jackson said plans are already underway for the 2025 festival. Keep up with St. Margaret’s on their website, Facebook, and Youth and Parish  Instagram pages.