The Good Neighbors Community Garden
Cultivating Healing, Justice, and Shalom
The Good Neighbors Community Garden is more than a garden—it’s a sacred space where racial healing, environmental stewardship, and community restoration come together. Rooted in the mission of the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Initiative, this project embodies the work of reconciliation by addressing systemic injustices, fostering connection, and symbolizing the Gospel’s vision of justice and Shalom.
A Vision for Justice and Restoration
The Good Neighbors Community Garden is designed to serve communities impacted by systemic inequities like environmental neglect, food insecurity, and racial trauma. By transforming underutilized urban spaces into flourishing gardens, we aim to provide:
- Access to Fresh Food: Promoting food equity in areas where resources are scarce.
- A Sacred Space for Healing: Offering a peaceful environment for reflection, connection, and embodied practices.
- Opportunities for Empowerment: Inviting individuals and families to reclaim dignity through stewardship of the land.
Through the garden, we seek to address the physical and spiritual needs of our communities, creating a tangible expression of racial Shalom.
Healing Through the Garden
1. Addressing Racial Trauma
For BIPOC communities, particularly Black individuals, the garden represents a reclaiming of relationship with the land—a space historically tied to exploitation and pain. Here, gardening becomes an act of resistance and renewal, affirming dignity and joy.
For White participants, the garden invites reflection on privilege and offers a physical act of repentance and solidarity. Together, these shared experiences help build a beloved community rooted in justice and unity.
2. Embodied Healing Practices
The garden serves as a site for somatic healing practices that integrate body, mind, and spirit. Activities like planting, weeding, and harvesting become spiritual acts of connection to God, creation, and one another.
3. Environmental Justice
By stewarding the land, participants address environmental neglect in urban areas, transforming spaces of despair into symbols of hope and flourishing.
The Garden and the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey
The Good Neighbors Community Garden is a cornerstone of the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey, providing participants with hands-on opportunities to engage in healing practices that reflect the themes of the journey:
- Month 6: Unforming and Re-forming Spiritual Practices
Participants 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 represents forgiveness, a sacred act of releasing pain and trusting God to bring new life. - Month 8: Building a Beloved Community
Contributing soil from home to create a unity garden bed symbolizes the blending of diverse identities and stories. - Month 10: Celebration and Commissioning
The journey concludes with a harvest celebration, where participants prepare a communal meal from the garden’s produce, embodying the joy of shared labor and reconciliation.
How You Can Get Involved
1. Volunteer in the Garden
Join us in transforming urban spaces into flourishing gardens. Whether you have a green thumb or are new to gardening, your hands and heart are welcome here.
2. Partner with Us
Faith-based organizations, local businesses, and community groups are invited to collaborate in making the garden a hub for healing and justice.
3. Participate in the Journey
The Good Neighbors Community Garden is an integral part of the Good Neighbors Racial Healing Journey, offering participants a space to engage in embodied healing and reconciliation.
A Sacred Space for Shalom
The Good Neighbors Community Garden is a living symbol of the Gospel’s power to renew, restore, and reconcile. Together, we are planting seeds of hope, healing, and justice—cultivating a community where everyone can flourish.
Join us today in this sacred work. Contact us at [insert contact info] to learn more about volunteering, partnering, or participating in the Good Neighbors Community Garden. Let’s grow something beautiful together.