Pastor Henry Washington garden of peace ministry
On Kennedy Park’s northern edge is a squat, white stucco building. Beside a collection of rose bushes, poppies, and mint, a sign reads: “The Garden of Peace Ministry.” Pastor Henry Washington presides over the church. Wash- ington, 48, is a Richmond native and a self-described “hood son.” He’s been hosting services—delivered in his smooth, calming baritone—for the past seven years. In 2010, after a shooting took place inside another Richmond church, Wash- ington started Operation Richmond, a community effort to reduce the city’s homicides. Washington looks out over the park that borders his church. “It’s nothing but an empty lot,” he says. The blacktop is littered with broken glass and clumps of foot-high weeds. The hoops inside the basketball court are rusty and netless. Farther on sits a grim play structure, empty of children, and a sunken amphitheater where a group of men hang out, talking and drinking. Washington says the men are known as “the residents” of
52 · LAND&PEOPLE · FALL/WINTER 2015
the park. Most people consider them a problem, he says— hard to engage. “I always put myself in the position as their advocate.” In 2012, the city established its general plan, identifying a long-range strategy to address its biggest challenges by 2030. The section on community health and wellness de- scribes problems all too common in Richmond—such as high incidence of death from diabetes and above-average hospi- talization rates for mental health disorders, substance abuse, and childhood asthma. “The greatest risks for poor health outcomes in Richmond fall disproportionately on low-income residents of color, especially African-Americans,” the plan states. It goes on to list factors that can improve public health outcomes: among them safe public spaces, walkable neighbor- hoods, and access to recreational facilities and parks—like Kennedy.
“I think this park gives us something to rally around,”
Washington says. “It gives us something to win at. I’m hoping. I’m praying.”
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