Churches partner to enhance northwest neighborhood
by S. Rotan Hale
Members of a four-church coalition stood hand-in-hand in prayer blessing a small plot of land at the intersection of Rugby Blvd, Grayson Ave. and 14th St. in northwest that will soon become a “Native Garden.”
Known as Northwest Faith Partnership (NFP) the ten-member team on hand June 17, hustled about spreading a pile of decomposing leaves and newspapers as a mulch alternative. Their mission: to transform the triangular space into a garden with an array of flowering plants in an effort to beautify the community.
“I am excited beyond belief, it’s taken a long time – a lot of cooperation and a lot of different partners to bring this together,” said Rev. Kathy O’Keeffe, pastor of Kingdom Life Ministries International (KLMI) in NW. “We are particularly grateful to Mill Mountain Garden Club (MMGC) and to the great churches that are participating in this project.”
Pastor O’Keeffe further explained how native gardens support and maintain pollinators by supplying food in the form of pollen and nectar, which in turn attracts pollinating insects.
“The project is a new innovation to this area and highly good for the environment and we are extremely excited to be partnering with the neighborhood we live in and that’s really most important to us,” she added.
KLM is just one of the participating churches that make up NFP which includes: First Church of the Brethren, (FCB), Williams Memorial Baptist Church (WMBC) and Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, all in northwest
“I think this garden will be an example for neighborhood and city garden partnerships to follow,” said Libba Wolfe who, as a Garden Club member, brought her expertise to the group.
Wolfe said in partnering with the city and others, negotiations went on for almost nine months before the project could move forward.
Because it’s city property, the group had to get each plant (6 to 8 perennials) approved. She described in detail the soil preparation process used–a chemical-free method known as lasagna gardening which involves layers of mulch-like material to first kill the grass and enrich the soil before planting.
“We believe that if the community is beautiful it allows people to act more beautifully,” said Rev. Christine Hodge, pastor, Mount Zion AME Church. “When people see beauty in the community it’s very effective to behavior. Environment is very effective to behavior as well. To know that somebody cares enough to provide a garden of beautiful flowers in the neighborhood will definitely make a difference in our community. That’s what we believe and that’s why we are doing this, to show that we care. It’s just like when you get dressed up, you feel better, you act better and most people do. We want people to stop, smell the roses and smile,” she continued.
Rev. Dava Hensley, pastor, First Church of the Brethren, spoke on how the garden was just one of several community enhancing events the group has engaged in lately.
“We are a group of pastors, this is our neighborhood and being out here collaborating with other churches is a good feeling,” said Pastor Hensley.
“All of us want to make our neighborhood better. This is just one project. We’ve done other things in the past, hosting all-day mental health workshops and other events. We’re going to do more in the near future to address the needs of our community because we love this neighborhood and we take pride in where we are.”
Pastor Hensley also mentioned a number of events and activities the group has engaged in recently to upgrade the community while “learning and growing together.”
With rake in hand, Rev. David Jones, pastor WMBC, reflected on the group’s collective focus.
“We (NFP) include four denominations with a variety of perspectives but we have one common concern for the community. If we don’t take pride in our own surroundings no one else will. Hopefully this will inspire others to do the same,” said Pastor Jones wrapping up this first phase of a collaborative effort by Northwest Faith Partnership – a group actively engaged in beautifying their community.
