The Gardens at OCBC

“You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal… by the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.” - Psalm 104: 10 - 12

We believe that we, as humans, are just one part of God’s magnificent creation - a creation that is hurting in a climate-changed world. Our gardens are one area where we can participate in this vital web of life and practice our stewardship of the more-than-human.

Unusual for an urban church, OCBC is fortunate to have sizable property surrounding its building, some of which has been cultivated in various forms for well over a century. In the late 1990’s the church embarked on a long-term lease relationship with the José Mateo Ballet Theater which involved numerous modifications, system updates, renovations, and repairs to the building. It also served as a springboard for volunteer efforts to beautify the exterior by creating new, as well as expanding existing planting beds surrounding the church building and its parking area.

From 1999 onward, we have committed to organic cultivation practices, to include native species in our planting selections, and even more recently to re-double efforts to introduce pollinator-attracting native plants. In the 2010’s a rain water catchment system was installed, with its water storage tank buried under the church parking area. This system serves a dual purpose. It helps mitigate flooding into the church basement, while the rainwater collected from the church roof supplies irrigation of the garden during the hot, dry spells of summer.

The garden offers walkways and several benches where anyone—congregants, visitors, tourists, neighbors, parents of ballet students, faculty, college students, laborers on nearby work sites, employees from buildings in the vicinity—may pass through, sit, rest, read, eat, visit, meet, meditate, or simply enjoy the cultivated surroundings; a respite in nature.

The gardens offer a place and space for spiritual renewal, where one may connect with and appreciate the other than human—including foraging rabbits; noisy turkey flocks; as well as numerous, happily chirping birds species, squirrels, chipmunks.

Whether you'd like to help tend the gardens or simply come and enjoy them, you are welcome here.