The Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey
A Transformative Path Toward Racial Healing and Reconciliation
The Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey is a 10-month intentional program designed to foster racial healing and reconciliation for 12 participants: 6 White and 6 BIPOC individuals. This sacred journey creates space for the Holy Spirit to work, empowering participants to process racial trauma, unlearn harmful narratives, and build a community grounded in justice and racial shalom.
At the heart of the journey are Healing Griots—facilitators who embody wisdom, compassion, and creativity to guide participants through this transformative process.
Purpose, Goal, and Vital Behaviors
Purpose Statement
Creating sacred spaces of embodied healing, where diverse neighbors unite to confront racial trauma and journey toward forgiveness, repentance, justice, and reconciliation.
Goal Statement
A community where sacred spaces of healing transform relationships and systems, embodying God’s vision of justice, repentance, and reconciliation. In this community, neighbors of all ethnicities unite in forgiveness and wholeness, reflecting the beauty of God’s kingdom in Western New York and beyond.
Vital Behaviors
Frequent Fellowship
Consistent and intentional gatherings form the foundation for lasting relationships. Regular opportunities for meals, worship, and discussion foster trust, diminish barriers, and build unity across racial divides.
Transformative Storytelling
Storytelling humanizes the impact of racial trauma and reconciliation. Sharing personal journeys of pain, hope, and healing fosters empathy and deepens understanding, illuminating the realities of racial injustice.
Sacred Listening
Attentive listening creates a safe and respectful space where every voice is valued. Fully present and intentional listening builds trust, promotes healing, and strengthens community bonds.
Embodied Healing Practices
Recognizing that racial trauma affects the whole person, embodied practices address the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of healing. These practices connect body, mind, and spirit to promote holistic reconciliation and restoration.
Structure of the Journey
What to Expect on the Journey
The journey is built on monthly gatherings, each including:
- A Shared Meal: Breaking bread together fosters authentic connection.
- Storytelling: Sharing personal narratives deepens empathy and healing.
- Somatic Practices: Engaging body, mind, and spirit to release trauma.
Daily Healing Steps and Shared Healing Steps (with a healing partner) supplement the gatherings, helping participants process experiences, build trust, and deepen their personal and collective healing.
Phases of the Journey
- Months 1–5: Opening to the Spirit through embodied awareness, storytelling, and lament.
Topics include: embodied spirituality, hospitality, the power of storytelling, and collective lament. - Months 6–10: Shaping for justice and racial Shalom.
Topics include: forgiveness, unlearning harmful practices, building beloved community, and sustaining racial justice work.
Role of the Healing Griot
The Healing Griot is a modern-day storyteller and spiritual guide who:
- Preserves sacred stories of pain, resilience, and hope.
- Fosters healing through storytelling, scripture, worship, and embodied practices.
- Extends radical hospitality, creating spaces of belonging and safety for all participants.
A Sacred Space for Healing and Justice
The journey incorporates practices like foot washing, body scans, and walking meditations, all rooted in scripture and supported by communal acts of restoration. Participants explore racial justice in tangible ways, including plans for a community garden—a future sacred space for healing and reconciliation.
Join the Journey
The inaugural Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey launches in Fall 2025 as a pilot program. If you feel called to participate in this sacred work of reconciliation, inquire today to learn more about joining us in this transformative experience.
Together, let’s journey toward forgiveness, justice, and racial Shalom.
Contact us at to express interest in the Fall 2025 pilot program.