The Community Garden

Cultivating Healing, Justice, and Shalom

The Good Neighbors Community Garden is a vision in the making—a future space where racial healing, environmental stewardship, and community restoration come together. As part of the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Initiative, this project will serve as a tangible expression of reconciliation, addressing systemic injustices, fostering deep connections, and reflecting the Gospel’s vision of justice and Shalom.

A Vision for Justice and Restoration

The Good Neighbors Community Garden is being developed to serve communities impacted by environmental neglect, food insecurity, and racial trauma. By transforming underutilized urban spaces into flourishing gardens, we aim to create a space that will provide:

• Access to Fresh Food – Promoting food equity in neighborhoods where resources are scarce.
• A Sacred Space for Healing – Offering an environment for reflection, connection, and embodied spiritual practices.
• Opportunities for Empowerment – Inviting individuals and families to reclaim dignity through stewardship of the land.

As we move forward with this initiative, we envision a garden that nurtures both physical and spiritual needs, cultivating a deeper sense of racial Shalom in our communities.

Healing Through the Garden

1. Addressing Racial Trauma

For BIPOC communities, especially Black individuals, reconnecting with the land through gardening can be an act of resistance, healing, and renewal—reclaiming a space historically tied to exploitation and transforming it into a source of dignity and joy.

For White participants, engaging in the garden provides an opportunity to reflect on privilege, participate in tangible acts of repentance and solidarity, and build relationships that foster a beloved community rooted in justice and unity.

2. Embodied Healing Practices

The garden will serve as a site for somatic healing practices that integrate body, mind, and spirit. Activities such as planting, weeding, and harvesting will be framed as spiritual acts—connecting participants with God, creation, and one another in profound and restorative ways.

3. Environmental Justice

As we cultivate the land, we will also be addressing environmental injustice in urban areas by transforming neglected spaces into places of hope and flourishing. By stewarding creation together, we will embody a Gospel-centered approach to justice and restoration.

The Garden and the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey

Once established, the Good Neighbors Community Garden will become a vital component of the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey, offering hands-on experiences that align with key themes of the journey:

• Month 6: Unforming and Re-forming Spiritual Practices
  Participants will clear and prepare the soil, symbolizing the release of harmful narratives and the embrace of new, justice-oriented practices.
• Month 7: Embodied Forgiveness
  Planting seeds will become a sacred act of forgiveness—releasing pain and trusting God to bring forth new life.
• Month 8: Building a Beloved Community
  Each participant will contribute soil from their home to create a unity garden bed, symbolizing the blending of diverse identities and stories.
• Month 10: Celebration and Commissioning
  The journey will conclude with a harvest celebration, where participants will prepare a communal meal from the garden’s produce, embodying the joy of shared labor and reconciliation.

How You Can Get Involved

Though the Good Neighbors Community Garden is still in development, we invite you to be part of this growing vision. Here’s how you can get involved in shaping this future endeavor:

1. Pray and Dream with Us
   Join us in praying for this vision and share ideas that can help bring it to life.
2. Help Identify Land & Resources
   If you know of available land, potential funding sources, or community partnerships that could support this effort, we’d love to hear from you.
3. Partner with Us
   Faith-based organizations, local businesses, and community groups are invited to collaborate with us to make the garden a reality.
4. Commit to Future Volunteer Opportunities
   Once the garden is established, we’ll need volunteers to help with planting, maintenance, and community programming.

Planting Seeds of Shalom

The Good Neighbors Community Garden will be more than a garden—it will be a living symbol of hope, justice, and reconciliation. As we take steps toward making this vision a reality, we invite you to journey with us.

Together, we can cultivate a community where everyone flourishes. Contact us to learn more about how you can support this endeavor. Let’s plant something beautiful together.