What Your Front Yard Says About You

Our church’s front yard is different now. The rain garden project is basically finished. After the hard winter we had last year, we are making sure that the newly planted grass plugs, bushes and trees have taken hold. So far the rainfall absorption system seems to be working well, which is good since that means far less rainwater flows into the city sewage system. But the difference in the front yard is not just about the new plantings.

The prior landscaping on Penn Avenue consisted of a formal yard trimmed with a solid stone border. It looked postcard-perfect from a distance but it was functionally unwelcoming up close. Now we have broken that stone border with a series of benches and tables. As people wait for the bus or simply pause on their way up and down Penn Avenue, they can sit on benches provided for them. They talk; they eat; they interact with other passer-bys. Most importantly, they transform the church’s front yard into a community space. Our building now has a living, active link to the neighborhood, modeling a renewed and faithful spirit of hospitality.

We may not meet the people who pause in our front yard. But I trust they will enjoy the plantings around them and I hope that they will look kindly upon our building as a place that valued them and literally offered them a seat in the shadow of our cathedral walls.

I believe churches too often view their front yards as something designed only to look nice as people come into their buildings. Yet, front yards are actually the point of contact between the church and the community. What are other ways church yards can embody the love of Christ and make real our commitment to mission, radical hospitality, and God’s commission to go out into the world? I’d love to hear your thoughts.